Reaction vessel, reaction vessel liquid introducing device, liquid introducing and reaction measuring device, and liquid introducing device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a reaction vessel, a reaction vessel liquid introducing device, a liquid introducing and reaction measuring device, and a liquid introducing device, and is directed to being able to perform temperature control of a liquid stored within the reaction vessel with a high accuracy and faithful responsiveness. The reaction vessel comprises: a storage chamber in which a liquid is storable, that has an opening part; a reaction chamber that is formed thinner or narrower than the storage chamber; and at least one flow passage that communicates between the storage chamber or the exterior and the reaction chamber. The reaction vessel is formed such that it is connectable to a liquid introducing section provided externally, and the liquid can be introduced into the reaction chamber by connecting to the liquid introducing section.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/573,110 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,727,480, filed Aug. 15, 2007, which is aUnited States national phase filing of international application no.PCT/JP2005/014305, filed Aug. 4, 2005, which claims priority to Japanesepatent application no. 2004-229952, filed Aug. 5, 2004, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a reaction vessel, a reaction vesselliquid introducing device, a liquid introducing and reaction measuringdevice, and a liquid introducing device.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method is used inall biology related fields as a DNA amplification method that quicklyand easily amplifies specific DNA fragments. The PCR method is a methodthat designs two primers that are complementary to the template DNA, andreproduces the area between the primers thereof within a test tube (invitro). The method obtains the PCR products by exponentially amplifyingthe DNA by repeating temperature cycles wherein a reaction solutioncontaining complementary DNA, primers, nucleotides, and thermostable DNApolymerase is incubated at various temperatures.

A single cycle comprises, with respect to a vessel charged withcomplementary DNA, the primer, DNA polymerase, nucleotides, and areaction buffer solution; denaturation of the double stranded DNA into asingle strand, annealing of the primer to the single stranded DNA, andincubation at the respective temperature conditions at which a DNAstrand that is complementary to the single strand is synthesized, and asingle molecule DNA fragment is made into two molecules. In the nextcycle, since the DNA fragments synthesized in the previous cycle alsobecome templates, the DNA fragments synthesized after n cycles becomes2n molecules.

Conventionally, in regard to temperature control, the next heating orcooling of the temperature is performed by accommodating the vessel,which is formed by glass, or the like, charged with complementary DNA,the primer, DNA polymerase, nucleotides and the reaction buffersolution, within a block-shaped housing section of a constanttemperature device formed by a material of aluminum, or the like, andheating or cooling the metallic block-shaped housing section and waitinguntil the liquid temperature becomes a uniform temperature distribution(Patent Document 1).

Consequently, until the reaction liquid within the vessel is heated orcooled, as well as a long time being taken to reach a uniformtemperature distribution in the liquid temperature due to the largecapacity of the vessel, complex temperature changes occur as a result ofthe differences in the heat capacity or the specific heat of the housingsection and the vessel, and there is a problem in that complextemperature instructions need to be performed in order to perform DNAamplification at a high accuracy.

Incidentally, in the PCR method, temperature control is important, andby changing the temperature cycles, the quality and quantity of thefinally obtained PCR products can be changed.

In particular, in real time PCR, a more accurate quantification isperformed by detecting and analyzing the generation process of theamplification product of PCR in real time, and a more accurate and quicktemperature control is necessary. Consequently, a variety of deviceshave been proposed (Patent Document 2 to Patent Document 5). However,these apparatuses are large-scale and complex devices in that they areprovided with complex flow passages, or used large-scale centrifugaldevices, and the like.

On the other hand, the present inventor has disclosed a reaction vesselhaving a reaction vessel body which is furnished with a reaction chamberthat stores the reaction liquid, and a cap member that seals an openingpart of the reaction chamber, and in addition a pressing section whereinthe cap member presses the reaction liquid, and this has made itpossible to perform quick temperature control on a simple device scalewithout the need for centrifugal force (Patent Document 6).

However, the present inventor, by combining the thinning orcapillaration of a liquid of high thermal efficiency, and a reasonablecentrifugal process based on the particular shape of the vessel thereof,has reached the idea of performing and obtaining a simultaneousshortening and automation of a consistent process in regard to PCR, andthe like, without using a large-scale device.

[Patent Document 1] Publication of Japanese Patent No. 2622327

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Translation of PCT InternationalApplication, Publication No. 2000-511435

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Translation of PCT InternationalApplication, Publication No. 2003-500674

[Patent Document 4] Japanese Translation of PCT InternationalApplication, Publication No. 2003-502656

[Patent Document 5] U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,349

[Patent Document 6] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, PublicationNo. 2002-10777

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been achieved in order to solvethe problems mentioned above, and a first object thereof is in providinga reaction vessel, a reaction vessel liquid introducing device, a liquidintroducing and reaction measuring device, and a liquid introducingdevice wherein temperature control of a liquid stored within the vesselcan be performed with a high accuracy and faithful responsiveness.

A second object is in providing a reaction vessel, a reaction vesselliquid introducing device, a liquid introducing and reaction measuringdevice, and a liquid introducing device in which the process can bequickly performed by shortening the time from when a heating or coolinginstruction is given until the liquid temperature is uniformlydistributed.

A third object is in providing a reaction vessel, a reaction vesselliquid introducing device, a liquid introducing and reaction measuringdevice, and a liquid introducing device in which a homogeneous reactionand highly accurate optical information is obtained as a result ofthinning or capillaration of the liquid in a state where bubbles and gasregions have been removed from within the liquid.

A fourth object is in providing a reaction vessel, a reaction vesselliquid introducing device, a liquid introducing and reaction measuringdevice, and a liquid introducing device in which consistent processingcan be efficiently and automatically performed in regard to the liquid,which is the processing subject.

Means for Solving the Problem

A first aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel being a vessel thathas: a storage chamber in which a liquid is storable, that has anopening part; a reaction chamber that is formed thinner or narrower thanthe storage chamber; and at least one flow passage that communicatesbetween the storage chamber or the exterior and the reaction chamber,and the vessel is formed such that it is connectable to a liquidintroducing section provided externally, and the liquid can beintroduced into the reaction chamber by connecting to the liquidintroducing section.

Here, the “storage chamber” is a portion in which the liquid isstorable, and is provided to simplify the introduction of the liquidinto the reaction chamber. The introduction of the liquid into thestorage chamber is performed from the opening part, or through the flowpassage.

The size or the thickness of the storage chamber is a size or athickness at which the introduction of the liquid from the opening partto the storage chamber can basically be easily performed by gravityalone, or a size or a thickness in which it is possible to install arotating body on the opening part.

The “reaction chamber” is a thinness (narrowness) level at which theintroduction of the liquid is not easily performed by gravity alone in astate where the contamination of gas has been eliminated. The thicknessor the width of the reaction chamber is, for example, 0.1 millimeters to3 millimeters. Accompanying this, the handled liquid quantitycorresponds to, for example, a few μ liters to 300μ liters. According tothis quantity, the processing time of the PCR method corresponds toapproximately several minutes to several tens of minutes. For example,for the shape of the reaction chamber, the size of the largest side faceis, for instance, a square shape with a length and width of 5 mm or 3mm, or a circular shape with a radius of 5 mm or 3 mm, and a thicknessof approximately 1 mm, and accordingly, in the case of a square shape,the capacity thereof is 25μ liters or 9μ liters.

The “flow passage” is a portion that communicates the interval betweenthe storage chamber or the exterior and the reaction chamber, and is aportion at which passage of liquid is exclusively performed. Forexample, it is a portion that is formed narrower or thinner compared tothe storage chamber, or, for example, at the interval between a thinnedreaction chamber, the width thereof is narrowly formed, or, at theinterval between a capillarated reaction chamber, for example, it is aportion having a different thickness to the reaction chamber. As aresult of communication using a flow passage, the introduction of theliquid can be performed with certainty, the vessel is compactly formedor the sealing of the reaction chamber is simplified, and it is easy toposition the reaction chamber farther away from the rotation axis thanthe storage chamber. In order to introduce the liquid into the reactionchamber in a state where the contamination of gas has been eliminated,for example, this is performed by utilizing a centrifugal force or asuction force.

The reason for providing the “reaction chamber” is for improving theefficiency of the heating process such that by introducing the liquidinto the reaction chamber, in regard to the liquid, at the very least,the heat transmission time in the thickness direction thereof isshortened, heat or temperature is transferred to the liquid in a shorttime, and a temperature distribution such that the liquid temperaturepromptly becomes uniform can be achieved. Accordingly, the heating orthe cooling can be performed by bringing a solid or a liquid heating andcooling medium into contact with, or close to, the reaction chamber, orby ventilating hot air or cold air by means of a dryer. Furthermore, thereaction chamber is heated or cooled by means of the heating and coolingmedium, for example, by mounting in the wall with the largest areaamongst the walls that enclose the reaction chamber, or by sandwichingfrom both sides with respect to the wall along the normal direction ofthe wall with the largest area. In a case where a target material, andthe like, has been labeled with a fluorescent material, in order toobtain the optical information resulting from the fluorescence thereof,for example, this large wall is irradiated with an excitation light, andlight is received from the same large wall, or from a small wall.

The “vessel” has a portion (here, it is the storage chamber) in whichthe liquid is storable, and as long it has something of the mannerthereof, it may be a dispensing tip form having, in addition to oneopening part, a liquid suction and discharge part. Since the vessel hasan opening part in the storage chamber, in order to achieve the functionas a vessel, there is a need for it to be connected such that liquiddoes not come out from the opening part to the outside, even in a casewhere the liquid introducing section is a rotating body and the vesselis connected to the rotating body. That is to say, the opening part isnot connectingly installed facing downwards or facing sideways withoutbeing blocked by a rotating body or another lid member thereof.Accordingly, in a case where the opening part is not blocked by a cap orthe like, there is a need for the opening part to be open facing upwardswhen it is used as a vessel or when it is connected to a rotating bodysuch that the liquid is storable, and in regard to when it is installedon the rotating body of the vessel, the direction in which the openingpart thereof is open and the rotation axis of the rotating body thereofbecome parallel in the vertical direction. A cap that blocks the openingpart may be provided on the opening part.

In regard to the vessel, in a case where it has a reaction chamber thathas only one opening or that is communicated with one flow passage, itis denoted as a fluid storage section, and in a case where it has areaction chamber that has two or more openings or that is communicatedwith two or more flow passages, it is denoted as a fluid circuit. Thedispensing tip form vessel or a number of the vessels disclosed in theembodiments mentioned below correspond to fluid circuits. In the case ofa fluid circuit, the introduction of the liquid is performed from aportion of the openings or the flow passages provided on the reactionchamber, and by discharging gas from the other openings or flowpassages, the introduction of the liquid can efficiently and smoothlyperformed. Furthermore, since contamination by gas or bubbles in theliquid introduced to the housing chamber can be even more certainlyprevented, it becomes possible to perform uniform and highly accuratetemperature control and measure accurate optical information withrespect to the liquid within the reaction chamber. Hence, a portion ofthe openings or the flow passages of the reaction chamber arenecessarily communicated with the storage chamber.

The “liquid introducing section” introduces the liquid from the storagechamber to the reaction chamber, or from the exterior to the reactionchamber, or when the liquid is moved from the storage chamber throughthe reaction chamber to the exterior, or from the exterior through thereaction chamber to the storage chamber, it is a section that has afunction of introducing the liquid to the reaction chamber, and it isprovided such that it can be connected to the vessel. For theintroduction of the liquid, for example, a rotation mechanism of thevessel that introduces to the reaction chamber by means of applyingcentrifugal force to the liquid, or a nozzle provided with a suction anddischarge mechanism that introduces to the reaction chamber by means ofsuction of the liquid, is used.

The “connection” includes installation, engagement, engaging insertion,engaging attachment, engaging fitting, linking, threading, closecontact, or adhesion of the reaction vessel to the liquid introducingsection, or accommodation or installation of the entire reaction vesselin the liquid introducing section, or other installation, contact, andaccommodation methods of the same level as these that take intoconsideration the gist of the invention. In regard to the rotating body,there is a case where it is connected at the upper side of the reactionvessel, and a case where it is connected at the lower side of thereaction vessel. Since it “has one flow passage”, it is necessary forthe reaction chamber to have at least one opening that introduces ordischarges liquid or gas.

According to the reaction vessel of the first aspect of the invention,the liquid can be easily thinned and capillarated by introducing theliquid from the storage chamber to the reaction chamber. By using thisreaction vessel, temperature control of the liquid can be performed witha high accuracy and a faithful responsiveness.

By thinning or capillarating the liquid by means of the reaction vesselor the reaction vessel liquid introducing device, the time from givingthe instruction for heating or cooling with respect to the liquid untilthe liquid temperature becomes a uniform temperature distribution isshortened, and the process can be quickly and efficiently performed.

According to the reaction vessel or the reaction vessel liquidintroducing device, by utilizing centrifugal force, and the like,thinning or capillaration can be performed in a state wherecontamination by bubbles or gas has been removed from within the liquid.Accordingly, at the time of temperature control, a homogeneoustemperature distribution is obtained, and furthermore, highly accurateoptical information can be measured.

Moreover, according to the reaction vessel, it is communicated byproviding one flow passage between the storage chamber or the exteriorand the reaction chamber. As a result, the interval between the reactionchamber and the storage chamber can be separated in terms of distance.Accordingly, for the reaction vessel liquid introducing device, which isbased on centrifugal force, a large centrifugal force can be applied tothe liquid that is to be introduced. Furthermore, for the reactionvessel liquid introducing device, which is based on suction anddischarge forces, by communicating the interval between the exterior andthe reaction chamber through a narrow flow passage, it becomes possibleto insert the end section of the flow passage into various vessels.Moreover, it becomes easier to suction and easier to handle even a smallquantity of liquid. Furthermore, by blocking the flow passage, itbecomes easier to make the reaction chamber sealable.

Moreover, according to the reaction vessel, a storage chamber isprovided for the reaction vessel, and by making the liquid temporarilystorable in the storage chamber, the introduction of the liquid into thereaction chamber can be simplified.

Furthermore, by detachably providing the reaction vessel with respect tothe liquid introducing section such as a rotating body provided to theexterior, the reaction vessel can be disposably formed, and hence theprocess can be inexpensively performed.

A second aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein at least aportion of the reaction chamber has a translucence or asemi-translucence.

Here, the reason for making “a reaction chamber in which a portion istranslucent or semi-translucent” is in order to obtain the opticalinformation within the reaction chamber, and, for example, it is formeasuring the quantity or concentration of genetic material, such asDNA, which has been labeled with fluorescence, and the like, by realtime PCR.

Here, “real time PCR” refers to a method of performing PCR whilemeasuring the amplification quantity of DNA in real time. In real timePCR, electrophoresis is unnecessary, and this has the advantage in thatthe amplification is observable during the temperature cycles, andquantitative results are obtained. Methods that use normal fluorescenttest reagents include the cycling probe method, the intercalator method,the Taqman probe method, and the Molecular Beacon method.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since at least aportion of the reaction chamber has translucence or semi-translucence,then in regard to real time PCR, and the like, the optical informationwithin the reaction chamber can be easily obtained. In a case where thereaction chamber is not translucent or semi-translucent, the opticalinformation can be obtained by providing an optical waveguide within thereaction chamber.

A third aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein the openingpart has a cap that is connectable to the opening part such that it isdetachable.

Here, the cap is one that is able to seal the opening part, and theopening part and the cap are connected by, for example, installation andcontact methods, such as installation, engagement, threading, engagingfitting, engaging insertion, linking, close contact, and adhesion.Furthermore, the cap, for example, may be installably provided betweenthe lower end section of the rotating body of the liquid introducingsection by means of installation, and the like. Consequently, theleaking of liquid or gas from the opening part can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the invention, by providing a cap thatis connectable to the opening part such that it is detachable, theleaking of the liquid that is stored in the storage chamber, from theopening part to the exterior can be prevented. Furthermore, in a casewhere the liquid introducing section can be connected to the cap suchthat it is detachable, the contact between the liquid and the liquidintroducing section can also be prevented.

In particular, in a case where the liquid introducing section is therotating body, if a cap is provided on the lower end section of therotating body such that it is detachable, and such that it covers thesame, and the opening part of the vessel is made to be connected throughthe cap, in a case where high-speed rotation of the rotating body isperformed, cross-contamination from splashing of the liquid and therotating body directly coming into contact with the liquid within thevessel is avoided with certainty. Furthermore, by preventing thesplashing of the liquid to the upper part, the liquid is pushed back tothe lower side, and a more efficient introduction of the liquid into thereaction chamber can be achieved.

A fourth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein the flowpassage and the reaction chamber are formed by a tabular frame havinggrooves or holes, and a film of a soft material that covers the framefrom one side or from both sides. Here, the “film” includes laminates.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, by forming the tabularframe, which has grooves or holes, by a film of a soft material thatcovers it from one side or from both sides, even if the reaction vesselis a complex construction, a reaction vessel having a sealable reactionchamber can be easily and inexpensively produced.

A fifth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein the flowpassage is one that communicates between the reaction chamber and thestorage chamber, the liquid introducing section is a rotatable rotatingbody, and the reaction vessel is connectable to the rotating body, andat the time of connection, a rotation axis of the rotating body passesthrough the vessel, the reaction chamber is formed such that it ispositioned farther away from the rotation axis than the storage chamber,and is rotatable together with the rotating body.

Since “at the time the reaction vessel is connected to the rotatingbody, the rotation axis of the rotating body passes through the vessel,and the reaction chamber is formed such that it is positioned fartheraway from the rotation axis than the storage chamber”, the vessel isrotatable about its own axis by means of the rotating body. The“rotation axis” is different to a specific rotation axle, and denotes anabstract central line of rotation.

The “object rotates about its own axis” refers to the object rotatingabout a rotation axis that passes through the object, and it is aconcept that contrasts revolution, in which an object rotates about arotation axis provided to the exterior of the object thereof. The liquidstored in the storage chamber, as a result of the high-speed rotation ofthe rotating body, moves to the reaction chamber that is connected at aposition farther away than the storage chamber with respect to therotation axis as a result of a centrifugal force, and since gas has asmaller specific gravity than liquid, it moves in a direction closer tothe axis than the liquid, and the liquid can be introduced into thereaction chamber in a state where it is not contaminated by gas.Furthermore, if the reaction chamber is placed on the underside of thestorage chamber, gravity can also be used. Therefore, the introductionof the liquid into the reaction chamber can be made even easier. Here,“high-speed rotation” represents, for example, several hundred rpm toseveral thousand rpm.

Furthermore, since “the reaction chamber is positioned farther away fromthe rotation axis than the storage chamber”, for example, as shown inFIG. 1, there is a case in which it comprises a storage chamber havingan opening part, and a reaction chamber that is communicated with thestorage chamber and is formed in a layer form that is thinner than thestorage chamber, or, there is a case in which it comprises a narrowtubular or thin layer form reaction chamber that extends diagonallydownwards from the lower side of the fat tubular storage chamber, whichhas an opening part on the upper side. In regard to “positionedfarther”, for example, the one with the longer distance between therotation axis and the center of gravity or the center of the portionsthat are the subject, is determined as the farther object.

Since the “vessel is connectable to a rotatable body”, the vessel has aportion that is connectable on the rotating body, that is to say, aconnection section. The connection section is, for example, the openingpart or another portion of the vessel, or there are cases where it isthe whole vessel. Since such a connection section itself is a portion ofthe vessel or the whole vessel, as a result, the rotation axis passesthrough the vessel. “Connection” includes, in regard to a portion of thevessel or the whole vessel, installation, engagement, threading,engaging fitting, engaging attachment, engaging insertion, oraccommodation of the whole vessel, or other installation methods. Thereare cases where the rotating body is connected on the upper side of thereaction vessel, and cases where it is connected on the lower side ofthe reaction vessel. The connection of the reaction vessel to the liquidintroducing section may be performed through the cap.

Here, in a case where the opening part and the rotating body areconnected by engagement or threading, there is a need for the connectionportion of the opening part and the rotating body thereof to match. Forexample, for a cylinder, there is a need to have a cylindrical innersurface. Furthermore, in a case where the opening part and the rotatingbody are installed by threading, the rotation direction resulting fromthe rotating body is the direction in which the rotating body movesforward with respect to the opening part as a result of threading. Inthis case, as a result, the axis of the opening part and the rotationaxis coincide.

Furthermore, for example, if a rotation supporting axle that protrudesout on the lower side of the vessel is provided along the rotation axis,a stable rotation, in which the rotation axis does not deviate, can beapplied.

According to the present invention, since the reaction vessel isrotatable about its own axis, the device scale can be reduced withoutthe need to apply a centrifugal force by means of a large centrifugaldevice. Furthermore, by utilizing a rotatable nozzle mentioned below,processing using the vessel can be consistently automated.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the flow passage isprovided such that it communicates the interval between the reactionchamber and the storage chamber, and as the liquid introducing section,a rotatable rotating body is provided, the rotation axis of the rotatingbody passes through the vessel, and the reaction chamber is formed suchthat it is positioned farther away from the rotation axis than thestorage chamber. That is to say, the reaction vessel rotates on its ownaxis by means of the rotation of the rotating body connected to thereaction vessel, and as a result of this rotation about its own axis,centrifugal force is applied to the liquid, and as a result ofcentrifugal separation, liquid or solid suspended in the liquid can beintroduced with certainty into the reaction chamber in a state where gasand bubbles have been removed. Furthermore, since the liquid isintroduced by means of the reaction vessel rotating about its own axis,the liquid can be introduced with certainty without taking up space.

That is to say, since the liquid can be introduced into the reactionchamber by the rotation of the vessel, a large space in which thereaction vessel is revolved around a rotation axis that passes onlythrough the exterior thereof, is unnecessary, and the introduction ofthe liquid can be achieved by utilizing a small-scale rotation device ofbasically the size of one vessel.

In a case where the rotation axis of the rotating body is connected tothe opening part such that it passes through the opening part of thestorage chamber, since the opening part used originally for theintroduction of liquid is also used for the installation of the rotatingbody, there is no need to provide a new rotating body installationsection in the vessel, and the structure is simplified.

Furthermore, it is possible to more certainly and easily connect betweenthe rotating body and the reaction vessel by threading or engagement,and particularly in a case where the rotating body is installed bythreading, since the rotation of the rotating body can be utilized, itis efficient.

A sixth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein therotating body is a rotatable nozzle in which suction and discharge ofgas is possible, and the nozzle has a rotation axis along an axialdirection thereof.

It is preferable for the “nozzle” to be formed such that it isconnectable with not only the vessel, but also with a dispensing tip.Since through a dispensing tip, the dispensing and transport of theliquid, and the like, can also be performed, processing with furtherdiversity can be performed. Furthermore, the nozzle is provided for adispensing device provided with a suction and discharge device, whichperforms suction and discharging of the liquid through the nozzle, andit is preferable to make vertical movement and horizontal movementpossible by means of technology apparent to those skilled in the art.Consequently, the liquid stored in a vessel provided on the exterior istransportable to a separate vessel.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, a nozzle that isrotatable on its own axis is used as the rotating body. Consequently, inaddition to the thinning or the capillaration of the liquid resultingfrom the introduction of the liquid into the reaction chamber, it can beutilized for the dispensing of the liquid into the reaction vessel, andit can be applied to a variety of processes. Furthermore, since therotation axis matches the axis of the nozzle, the rotation radius issmall, and the device scale can be restricted.

A seventh aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein; the flowpassage comprises a liquid introduction flow passage for introducing theliquid from the storage chamber to the reaction chamber, and a dischargeflow passage for discharging gas from the reaction chamber, the liquidintroducing section comprises a rotatable rotating body, and thereaction vessel is connectable to the rotating body, and at the time ithas been connected, it is formed such that the reaction chamber ispositioned farther away from the rotation axis than the storage chamber,and it is rotatable together with the rotating body.

Here, since two flow passages are provided for the reaction chamber, thereaction chamber has two openings which introduce or discharge liquid orgas. Here, the reason for providing the two flow passages of the liquidintroduction flow passage and the discharge flow passage is to introducethe liquid into the reaction chamber in a state where it is notcontaminated by gas, and to certainly and efficiently remove the gas. Inregard to the gas to be discharged by the discharge flow passage, thereis a case where it is returned to the storage chamber, and a case whereit is discharged to the exterior. Consequently, it is possible toquickly and smoothly perform the introduction of the liquid, and thedischarging of the gas.

Furthermore, in regard to the rotation axis of this rotating body, acase where it passes through the vessel, and a case where it does notpass through the vessel, is possible. In the case where it passesthrough the vessel, it rotates about its own axis, but in the case whereit does not pass through, the reaction vessel revolves about therotation axis.

As a result of the liquid introduction flow passage being formed suchthat it is positioned farther away from the rotation axis for the casewhere the rotating body has been connected, than the discharge flowpassage, discharging can be smoothly performed since the effect of thecentrifugal force on the discharge flow passage is smaller than on theliquid introduction flow passage. In this case, if at least a portion ofthe discharge flow passage is provided along the rotation axis for thecase where the rotating body is connected, the effect of the centrifugalforce on the discharge flow passage can be made even smaller.“Connection” has been already explained, and therefore, description isomitted.

The reaction chamber is, for example, formed in an approximatecylindrical shape, and the side face of the reaction chamber has asmaller area than both bottom faces, and it is formed thinner than thestorage chamber.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, by providing a liquidintroduction flow passage for introducing the liquid from the storagechamber to the reaction chamber, and a discharge flow passage fordischarging gas from the reaction chamber, and using the liquidintroducing section as a rotating body, the introduction of the liquidand the discharging of gas are performed using separate flow passages.Therefore the introduction of the liquid and the discharging of gas canbe efficiently and quickly performed.

An eighth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein adeformable soft material is provided for at least a portion of the flowpassage or the reaction chamber, and the reaction chamber is sealable bydeforming the soft material.

Here, the “soft material” is a material formed from a soft material thatis deformable by applying a pressing force, ultrasonic waves, highfrequency waves, vibrations, laser, heat, and the like. The softmaterial is a material that has been formed from, for example, elasticbodies such as rubber, or plastics such as polyethylene or silicone. Thesoft material includes, for example, the film material that encloses theflow passages or the reaction chamber, or the block shaped materialmentioned below that is provided for the flow passage or the reactionchamber.

The deformation of the soft material is, for example, performed bypressing the wall section of the reaction chamber of the flow passagesthat have been formed by the soft material, or applying ultrasonicwaves, high frequency waves, laser, heat, and the like to weld the softmaterial. In a case where the soft material is formed by an elastic bodysuch as rubber, and it has been deformed by a pressing force, there is aneed to maintain the pressing force from the exterior to the elasticbody in order to maintain the deformation.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, a deformable softmaterial is provided for at least a portion of the flow passage or thereaction chamber, the reaction chamber is sealable by deforming the softmaterial, and a thinned or capillarated liquid that is not contaminatedby gas is easily obtained. Consequently, the discharging of theintroduced liquid from within the reaction chamber is prevented, and anefficient and quick introduction of the liquid can be performed.

A ninth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein the softmaterial is an elastic block material that is deformable by means of apressing force, and the interior has a void through which passage ofliquid and gas is possible.

Here, the “void” includes pierced holes. As a material that is an“elastic block material” and that has a void in its interior, forexample, the elastic valve mentioned below can be given. In order toseal the reaction chamber, there is a need to continuously apply apressing force to the elastic block material.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, an elastic blockmaterial that is deformable by means of a pressing force and that has avoid through which passage of liquid, and the like, is possible, isprovided for the flow passage or the reaction chamber, and by applying apressing force, the liquid can be certainly and easily sealed in thereaction chamber. Furthermore, as a result of this, discharging of theintroduced liquid from within the reaction chamber is prevented, and anefficient and quick introduction of the liquid can be achieved.

A tenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel comprising, at thetime where the reaction vessel is connected to the rotating body, arotation supporting axle along the rotation axis of the rotating body.

The “rotation supporting axle” is an axle that has been provided suchthat, accompanying the rotation of the rotating body, smooth rotation ofthe reaction vessel is made possible. In regard to the rotationsupporting axle, for example, in a case such as where the reactionvessel is connected to the rotating body at the opening part of thestorage chamber, it is provided such that it protrudes out to the lowerpart of the reaction vessel, or it may be provided such that therotation supporting axle that protrudes out to the lower part is made toalso protrude out to the upper part, such that the upper end of therotation supporting axis connects to the rotating body. The rotationsupporting axle is also a portion of the reaction vessel. Hence in thiscase, the rotation axis of the rotating body passes through the vessel,and it corresponds to rotation about its own axis.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, in a case where therotation axis of the rotating body passes through the vessel at the timethe reaction vessel is connected to the rotating body, by installing arotation supporting axle that protrudes out on the lower side of thevessel along the rotation axis to a bearing provided to the exterior,and by rotating the rotating body, it is possible for the reactionvessel to rotate in a state where it is stable with respect to therotation axis.

An eleventh aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein theopening part is, in a state where a rotation axis of the rotating bodyis passed therethrough, connectable such that it is detachable by meansof a lower end section of the rotating body or a detachable cap that isdetachable on the lower end section of the rotating body.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, at the lower endsection of the rotating body, a cap is provided that covers the same,and since the opening part of the vessel is connected via the cap, in acase where high-speed rotation of the rotating body is performed,splashing of the liquid and the rotating body directly coming intocontact with the liquid within the vessel is prevented, andcross-contamination can be avoided with certainty. Furthermore, bypreventing the splashing of the liquid to the upper part, the liquid ispushed back to the lower side, and a more efficient introduction of theliquid into the reaction chamber can be achieved.

A twelfth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein therotating body is a nozzle in which suction and discharging of gas ispossible, and the nozzle has a rotation axis in an axial directionthereof, or parallel to the same.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, by using a nozzle asthe rotating body, it can be utilized as a dispensing device, and avariety of processes can be consistently automated.

A thirteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel comprising aflow passage which, as well as communicating between the storage chamberand the reaction chamber, communicates between the reaction chamber andthe exterior, and the liquid introducing section has a nozzle and asuction and discharging section that performs suction and discharging ofgas via the nozzle, and the opening part of the storage chamber isconnectable by means of the nozzle.

Here, “connection” includes contact and installation methods such asinstallation, engagement, threading, engaging fitting, engagingattachment, engaging insertion, welding, or close contact.

Furthermore, the reaction chamber is, for example, communicated with thestorage chamber via the upper section, and in regard to the suction anddischarging port, for example, it is provided on the lower end of theflow passage that communicates at the lower section of the reactionchamber. Here, by forming the flow passage with a small diameter, it ispossible to handle various vessels provided on the exterior. The size ofthe storage chamber is a size that can introduce the fluid into thereaction chamber by suction of the fluid, or a size that makes thesuction and discharging by the nozzle possible. As a result of theconsequent suction of the fluid by the nozzle, the fluid is introducedfrom the suction and discharging port into the reaction chamber.

In regard to the nozzle, it is preferable for it to be provided on adispensing device in which horizontal movement and vertical movement ispossible. Consequently, by moving the nozzle to vessels provided atvarious positions, it becomes possible to perform a further variety ofprocesses. In regard to the nozzle, rotational movement includingrevolution is not necessarily made possible, although in a case whererotational movement is made possible, it benefits the homogenization ofthe liquid.

In regard to the interval between the storage chamber and the reactionchamber, there is a case where they are communicated via a flow passage,or there is a case where they are directly communicated at the intervalbetween the storage chamber and the reaction chamber. In the thirteenthaspect of the invention, since it has two flow passages, the reactionchamber has two openings at the interval with the flow passages.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the nozzle is usedas the liquid introducing section, and the liquid is introduced into thereaction chamber by suction of the liquid to the storage chamber via thereaction chamber by means of the suction and discharging section.Accordingly, the liquid can be introduced with certainty into thereaction chamber without contamination by gas or bubbles. In this case,since there is no need to rotate the nozzle, the mechanism forintroducing the liquid into the reaction chamber is simplified.

A fourteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein thereaction chamber is, within a pipette tip comprising a thick diametersection and a thin diameter section that is thinner than the thickdiameter section, a gap formed between an outer face of a core which isstored inside an inner face of the pipette tip in which a spacer isintermediately present, and the inner face of the pipette tip, thestorage chamber is a space within the thick diameter section formedabove the reaction chamber, a thin diameter section of the pipette tipis a flow passage that communicates the exterior and the reactionchamber, and an opening part of the thick diameter section isconnectable by means of the nozzle.

The spacer is, for example, a plurality of protrusion sections thatprotrude out in the outward direction from the outer face of the core,or a protrusion section that protrudes out in the inward direction fromthe inner face of the pipette tip. There is a need for this gap to becommunicated with the thin diameter section and the upper side of thethick diameter section.

In this case, the nozzle serving as the liquid introducing section, isrotatable, and the nozzle may have a rotation axis along the axialdirection thereof. In this case, as well as simplifying the introductionof the liquid into the reaction chamber by means of the rotation of thenozzle, the homogenization of the liquid can also be performed.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, a core is stored inthe pipette tip, the gap formed between the outer face of the core andthe inner face of the pipette tip is used as the reaction chamber, thespace within the thick diameter section of the upper side of thereaction chamber thereof is made the storage chamber, and a nozzle isconnectable to the opening part of the storage chamber, that is to say,the thick diameter section. Accordingly, by suctioning the liquid, whichis stored within the vessel provided to the exterior from the thindiameter section by means of the nozzle, from the reaction chambertowards the storage chamber, the liquid can be introduced into thereaction chamber. Furthermore, in regard to the product materialproduced by a reaction within the reaction chamber, by discharging gasfrom the nozzle, the product material can be discharged into the vesselfrom the reaction chamber via the thin diameter section, and the productmaterial can be easily obtained.

A fifteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein apredetermined variety of biological materials are arranged inpredetermined positions on the outer face of the core.

Consequently, for example, a target material labeled with a luminescentmaterial, such as a fluorescent material, and a predetermined variety ofbiological materials are arranged in the predetermined positions, and byintroducing the liquid in which the target material is suspended, andreacting the same, by measuring the luminescent position thereof, it ispossible to analyze the structure of the target material or analyze thecharacter thereof.

In order to arrange the predetermined biological materials in thepredetermined positions on the outer face of the core, in addition to acase where the predetermined biological materials are fixed in thepredetermined positions on the outer face of the core, there is a casewhere the predetermined biological materials are fixed at predeterminedpositions on a long and narrow shaped medium, such as a fibrous form ora filamentous form, and this is wound around the outer face of the core.In this case, by arranging the biological materials on the medium andwinding the arranged medium around the core, the biological materialscan be easily collected and arranged. Alternatively, by following alongthe medium, the luminescent position can be easily detected.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the invention, by fixing apredetermined variety of biological materials at predetermined positionson the outer face of the core, and by measuring the luminescent positionof the labeled target material that has reacted with the biologicalmaterials, analysis of the target material can be performed.

A sixteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein thereaction chamber is sealable by sealing an interval between the nozzleor the storage chamber and the reaction chamber, and an interval betweenthe reaction chamber and the exterior.

In order to seal the interval between the nozzle and the reactionchamber, for example, a first cap is engagingly insertably provided onthe upper section of the storage chamber of the thick diameter sectionsuch that it is detachable, and in regard to the cap itself, it isdetachably provided such that it is connectable to the nozzle. The capthat is connected to the upper section of the thick diameter section isfurther made movable in the downward direction of the upper section ofthe pipette tip, and by moving the cap in the downward direction andmaking it come into contact with the upper edge of the core storedwithin the pipette tip, the reaction chamber is sealed from the upperside. Furthermore, in regard to the lower side of the reaction chamber,by engagingly inserting the end of the thin diameter section into asecond cap, the reaction chamber is sealed from the top and the bottom.

On the other hand, in order to seal the interval between the storagechamber and the reaction chamber, and the interval between the reactionchamber and the exterior, a portion or all of the flow passage or thereaction chamber is formed by a deformable soft material, and in regardto the sealing of the reaction chamber, it is performed by deforming thesoft material. These caps, the movement device, or a pressing device forperforming the deformation correspond to a sealing device.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the invention, by means of sealingthe reaction chamber, and by quickly and easily preventing thedischarging of the liquid, which has been introduced to the reactionchamber, from the reaction chamber, an efficient and quick introductionof the liquid can be performed.

A seventeenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel wherein thereaction chamber is formed in an approximate cylindrical shape, a sideface of the reaction chamber has a smaller area than both bottom faces,and a height between both bottom faces is formed less than a thicknessof the storage chamber.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the invention, by forming thereaction chamber in an approximate cylindrical shape, and by irradiatingor receiving light with respect to the side face, uniform opticalinformation can be obtained.

An eighteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device comprising; one or two or more reaction vessels, andone or two or more liquid introducing sections to which the reactionvessel is connectable such that it is detachable, and the reactionvessel has: a storage chamber in which liquid is storable, that has anopening part; a reaction chamber that is formed thinner or narrower thanthe storage chamber; and at least one flow passage that communicatesbetween the storage chamber or the exterior and the reaction chamber,and liquid is introduced into the reaction chamber by means of a liquidintroducing section.

Here, the “liquid introducing section” is, for example, a rotatablerotating body, which is connectable to the reaction vessel, and arotational driving section that drives the rotating body, or a nozzlethat connects to the reaction vessel and a suction and dischargingsection that suctions or discharges gas with respect to the nozzle.Furthermore, the rotating body may, at the same time, be the nozzle.Moreover, it is preferable for the liquid introducing section to storetest reagents, and the like, or be mutually movable with respect to anexternal vessel, and the like, in which the test reagents are storable.Consequently, the automation of the processing can be even furtheradvanced.

In order to make it “connectable such that it is detachable”, forexample, a reaction vessel is arranged before hand, the connectionportion of the liquid introducing section is moved and connected as aresult of engagement, threading, and the like, and detachment is, forexample, performed by moving a plate for stripping the reaction vesselfrom the connection portion, or rotating in the reverse direction to thedirection of threading.

By introducing the liquid from the reaction vessel liquid introducingdevice storage chamber according to the eighteenth aspect of theinvention into the reaction chamber, the liquid can be easily thinned orcapillarated. By using this reaction vessel, temperature control of theliquid can be performed with a high accuracy and faithfulresponsiveness.

By thinning or capillarating the liquid by means of the reaction vesselor the reaction vessel liquid introducing device, the time from givingthe heating or cooling instruction until the liquid temperature becomesa uniform temperature distribution is shortened, and the process can beperformed quickly and efficiently.

According to the reaction vessel or the reaction vessel liquidintroducing device, by utilizing centrifugal force, thinning orcapillaration can be performed in a state where contamination of bubblesand gas within the liquid has been removed. Consequently, whentemperature control is performed, a uniform temperature distribution isobtained, and furthermore, optical information of a high precision canbe measured.

Moreover, according to the reaction vessel, it is communicated byproviding one flow passage between the storage chamber or the exteriorand the reaction chamber. As a result, the interval between the reactionchamber and the storage chamber can be separated in terms of distance.Accordingly, for the reaction vessel liquid introducing device, which isbased on centrifugal force, a large centrifugal force can be applied tothe liquid that is to be introduced. Furthermore, for the reactionvessel liquid introducing device, which is based on suction anddischarge forces, by communicating the interval between the exterior andthe reaction chamber through a narrow flow passage, it becomes possibleto insert the end section of the flow passage into various vessels.Moreover, it becomes easier to suction and easier to handle even a smallquantity of liquid. Furthermore, by blocking the flow passage, itbecomes easier to make the reaction chamber sealable.

Moreover, according to the reaction vessel, a storage chamber isprovided for the reaction vessel, and by making the liquid temporarilystorable in the storage chamber, the introduction of the liquid into thereaction chamber can be simplified.

Furthermore, by detachably providing the reaction vessel with respect tothe liquid introducing section such as a rotating body provided to theexterior, the reaction vessel can be disposably formed, and hence theprocess can be inexpensively performed.

A nineteenth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device wherein the liquid introducing section has arotatable rotating body, and a rotation driving section thatrotationally drives the rotating body, and the reaction chamber of thereaction vessel connected to the rotating body is formed such that it ispositioned farther away from the rotation axis of the rotating body thanthe storage chamber, and the reaction vessel rotates by means ofrotation of the rotating body and introduces liquid stored in thestorage chamber into the reaction chamber.

According to the present device, centrifugal force is applied to theliquid present in the storage chamber of the reaction vessel, and theliquid can be introduced into the reaction chamber, which is positionedfarther away from a rotation axis than the storage chamber, in a statewhere it is not contaminated by gas. The reaction vessel can use thereaction vessels according to the first aspect of the invention to thefifteenth aspect of the invention.

Here, in regard to the rotation axis, there is a case where it passesthrough the vessel and it rotates about its own axis, and there is acase where it passes through the outside of the vessel and it revolves.In the case of rotation about its own axis, as well as being able toreduce the device scale, a variety of processes can be performed in acompact device by using the nozzle itself as the rotating body.

In regard to the “connection”, this is as explained for the fifth aspectof the invention.

Here, in order to perform rotation about its own axis, there is a needto form the rotation axis of the rotating body connected to the vesselsuch that it passes through the vessel. In regard to the rotation axisof the rotating body, it is preferable for it to pass through theopening part of the storage chamber and make it connectable to theopening part.

Consequently, the opening part is covered by the rotating body, and theleaking of the liquid from the opening part can be prevented withoutcovering the opening part with a cap, and the like.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, a rotatablerotating body is provided as the liquid introducing section, and thereaction chamber is formed such that it is positioned farther away fromthe rotation axis than the storage chamber. That is to say, the reactionvessel rotates about its own axis or revolves, as a result of therotation of the connected rotating body, and by means of this rotationabout its own axis or this revolution, centrifugal force is applied tothe liquid, and as a result of centrifugal separation, liquid or solidsuspended in the liquid can be introduced with certainty into thereaction chamber in a state where gas and bubbles have been removed.Furthermore, in a case where the liquid is introduced by means of thereaction vessel rotating about its own axis, the liquid can beintroduced with certainty without taking up space. That is to say, sincethe liquid can be introduced into the reaction chamber by the rotationof the vessel, a large space in which the reaction vessel is revolvedaround a rotation axis that passes only through the exterior thereof, isunnecessary, and the introduction of the liquid can be achieved byutilizing a small-scale rotation device of basically the size of onevessel. On the other hand, in a case where revolution is performed, alarge centrifugal force can be obtained with a low rotational frequency.

In a case where the rotation axis of the rotating body is connected tothe opening part such that it passes through the opening part of thestorage chamber, since the opening part used originally for theintroduction of liquid is also used for the installation of the rotatingbody, there is no need to provide a new rotating body installationsection in the vessel, and the structure is simplified.

Furthermore, it is possible to more certainly and easily connect betweenthe rotating body and the reaction vessel by threading or engagement,and particularly in a case where the rotating body is installed bythreading, since the rotation of the rotating body can be utilized, itis efficient.

A twentieth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device wherein the rotating body is a nozzle in whichsuction and discharging of gas is possible, and a rotation axis of thenozzle runs along an axial direction of the nozzle thereof, or isparallel to the axial direction of the nozzle.

By using the nozzle also as the rotating body, a variety of diverseprocesses can be consistently performed by connecting a dispensing tip,such as the suction and discharging of the liquid, and a homogenizationprocess of the suspension. Furthermore, although it is necessary for therotating body to have a movement section that is movable in the verticaldirection, if it is also movable in the horizontal direction, by movingthe rotating body to vessels provided in various positions, it becomespossible to perform a wider variety of processes.

According to the twentieth aspect of the invention, by using a nozzle asthe rotating body, it can be utilized as a dispensing device, and avariety of processes can be consistently automated.

A twenty-first aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device wherein the flow passage of the reaction vesselcomprises a liquid introduction flow passage for introducing liquid fromthe storage chamber or the exterior to the reaction chamber, and adischarge flow passage for discharging gas from the reaction chamber,and as well as a portion or all of the flow passage or the reactionchamber thereof being formed by a deformable soft material, it comprisesa pressing section that seals the reaction chamber by pressing apredetermined portion of the soft material.

Here, in the case of the former combination, the liquid introducingsection is a rotating body, and in the case of the latter combination,it is a nozzle and a suction and discharging section. In the lattercase, the reaction chamber is, for example, communicated at the uppersection of the storage chamber, and the liquid introduction flow passageis a flow passage that extends from the reaction chamber in the downwarddirection, and by forming the flow passage with a small diameter, it isinsertable into a variety of vessels provided on the exterior.Furthermore, the discharge flow passage communicates the intervalbetween the reaction chamber and the storage chamber provided on theupper side thereof, and the nozzle is, for example, connected to theopening part of the upper side of the storage chamber. Hence, it iscommunicated on the upper side via the discharge flow passage.

According to the present aspect of the invention, in the case of thelatter combination, the liquid is introduced into the reaction chambervia the liquid introduction flow passage by means of the suction offluid by the nozzle, and the gas present in the reaction chamber issuctioned into the nozzle through the storage chamber via the dischargeflow passage. At that time, a portion of the liquid may be suctionedinto the storage chamber.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the invention, a deformable softmaterial is provided for at least a portion of the flow passage or thereaction chamber, the reaction chamber is sealable by deforming the softmaterial, and a thinned or capillarated liquid that is not contaminatedby gas is easily obtained. Consequently, the discharging of theintroduced liquid from within the reaction chamber is prevented, and anefficient and quick introduction of the liquid can be performed.

A twenty-second aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device comprising, in regard to the reaction vessel, a flowpassage which, as well as communicating between the storage chamber andthe reaction chamber, communicates between the reaction chamber and theexterior, and the liquid introducing section has a nozzle and a suctionand discharging section that performs suction and discharging of gas viathe nozzle, and the opening part of the storage chamber is connectableto a lower end section of the nozzle or is connectable to the lower endsection of the nozzle via a cap that is connectable to the nozzle lowerend section.

According to the twenty-second aspect of the invention, the nozzle isused as the liquid introducing section, and the liquid is introducedinto the reaction chamber by suction of the liquid to the storagechamber via the reaction chamber by means of the suction and dischargingsection. Accordingly, the liquid can be introduced with certainty intothe reaction chamber without contamination by gas or bubbles. In thiscase, since there is no need to rotate the nozzle, the mechanism forintroducing the liquid into the reaction chamber is simplified.

A twenty-third aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device wherein the reaction chamber of the reaction vesselis a gap formed between an outer face of a core, which is stored in apipette tip comprising a thick diameter section and a thin diametersection that is thinner than the thick diameter section, and an innerface of the pipette tip, the storage chamber is a space within the thickdiameter section formed above the reaction chamber, the thin diametersection of the pipette tip is a flow passage that communicates betweenthe exterior and the reaction chamber, and the opening part of the thickdiameter section is connectable by means of the nozzle.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the invention, a core is storedin the pipette tip, the gap formed between the outer face of the coreand the inner face of the pipette tip is used as the reaction chamber,the space within the thick diameter section of the upper side of thereaction chamber thereof is made the storage chamber, and a nozzle isconnectable to the opening part of the storage chamber, that is to say,the thick diameter section. Accordingly, by suctioning the liquid, whichis stored within the vessel provided to the exterior from the thindiameter section by means of the nozzle, from the reaction chambertowards the storage chamber, the liquid can be introduced into thereaction chamber.

Furthermore, in regard to the product material produced by a reactionwithin the reaction chamber, by discharging gas from the nozzle, theproduct material can be discharged into the vessel from the reactionchamber via the thin diameter section, and the product material can beeasily obtained.

A twenty-fourth aspect of the invention is a reaction vessel liquidintroducing device comprising a sealing device that fluidically sealsbetween the nozzle or the storage chamber and the reaction chamber, andbetween the reaction chamber and the exterior.

Here, as the “sealing device”, for example, in regard to the intervalbetween the nozzle and the reaction chamber, a first cap is detachablyand engagingly insertably provided on the upper section of the storagechamber of the thick diameter section, and in regard to the cap itself,it is detachably provided such that it is connectable to the nozzle. Byfurther moving the cap that is connected to the upper section of thethick diameter section in the downward direction at the upper section ofthe pipette tip, and by making it come into contact with the upper edgeof the core stored within the pipette tip, the reaction chamber issealed from the upper side. Furthermore, the lower side of the reactionchamber is sealed as a result of connecting by means of engaginglyinserting the end of the thin diameter section into a second cap. Thatis to say, in a case where the first cap is moved by means of the lowerend section of the nozzle, it is a raising and lowering movement deviceof the nozzle and a horizontal movement device that moves the nozzle tothe position at which the second cap is disposed.

According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, by sealing thereaction chamber, a reaction and the measurement thereof can beperformed with high reliability in a state where gas has been removed.Furthermore, a quick and efficient introduction of the liquid can beachieved.

A twenty-fifth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device comprising; one or two or more reactionvessels, and one or two or more liquid introducing sections to which thereaction vessel is connectable such that it is detachable, and thereaction vessel is a vessel that has: a storage chamber in which liquidis storable, that has an opening part; a reaction chamber that is formedthinner or narrower than the storage chamber; and at least one flowpassage that communicates between the storage chamber or the exteriorand the reaction chamber, and as well as further having a heating andcooling section that is able to heat or cool the one or two or morereaction chambers, and an optical information measuring section thatobtains optical information within the one or two or more reactionchambers, it causes a reaction with regard to the liquid introduced intothe reaction chamber by the liquid introducing section, and measures theoptical information thereof.

Here, in regard to the face of the reaction chamber that performsheating or cooling with respect to the reaction chamber, the face thatreceives the light from the reaction chamber, and the face thatirradiates light to the reaction chamber, a case where they are the sameface, and a case where they are different faces, is possible.

In regard to the optical information measuring section, at the veryleast, one or two or more light reception end sections for receivinglight from the reaction chamber are provided in contact with, or in thevicinity of, the reaction chamber. In a case where the luminescentmaterial is a fluorescent material, or the like, it has one or two ormore irradiation end sections which irradiate excitation light forgenerating fluorescence.

Furthermore, it is preferable for the interval between the reactionchamber of the reaction vessel, which is connected to the liquidintroducing section, and the heating and cooling section or/and theoptical information measuring section to be mutually movable.Consequently, the automation and simplification of the processing can bepromoted.

According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, heating andcooling is performed by the heating and cooling section provided makingcontact with, or close to, the reaction chamber of the reaction vessel.Accordingly, a metallic block or the like is not necessary, and inregard to the thinned or capillarated liquid in a state in which it isnot contaminated by gas or bubbles, temperature control of the liquidstored within the vessel can be performed with high precision andfaithful responsiveness.

Furthermore, by heating or cooling the thinned or capillarated liquid ina state in which it is not contaminated by gas or bubbles, the processcan be advanced quickly by shortening the time from giving the heatingor cooling instruction until the liquid temperature is uniformlydistributed.

Moreover, since the optical information within the reaction chamber ismeasured in a state where it is not contaminated by gas or bubbles,optical information of a high precision can be obtained.

In particular, if it is made so that the liquid is heated or cooled withthe heating and cooling section sandwiched from both sides along thethickness direction, an even quicker and more efficient heating andcooling of the liquid can be performed.

A twenty-sixth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device that further comprises a sealing device forsealing the reaction chamber of the reaction vessel.

Here, the sealing device is, for example, in a case where a part or allof the flow passage of the reaction vessel, or the reaction chamber, isformed by a deformable soft material, a pressing section that seals thereaction chamber by deforming the soft material, and in a case where thereaction chamber is a gap between the inner face of the pipette tip andthe outer face of the core stored within the tip, it comprises a firstcap, a second cap, and a movement device that moves the first cap in thedownward direction and moves the pipette tip to the position of thesecond cap, and connects the lower end section of the tip thereof to thesecond cap. Furthermore, the pressing section is a protrusion sectionprovided on the light reception end section mentioned below, or aprotrusion section provided on the end face of the irradiation endsection of the optical information measuring device. In addition,examples of the sealing device include, an ultrasonic wave radiatingdevice, or a welding device which use high frequency waves, laser, heat,and the like.

According to the twenty-sixth aspect of the invention, by sealing thereaction chamber, a reaction and the measurement thereof can beperformed with high reliability in a state where gas has been removed.Furthermore, a quick and efficient introduction of the liquid can beachieved.

A twenty-seventh aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises one or two or more irradiation end sections thatirradiate light to the reaction chamber, and one or two or more lightreception end sections that receive light from the reaction chamber, theirradiation end section is provided such that it makes contact with oris in the vicinity of, amongst a plurality of walls that enclose thereaction chamber, at least one wall with the largest area, and the lightreception end section is provided such that it makes contact with or isin the vicinity of at least one of the walls excluding the largest wall.

According to the twenty-seventh aspect of the invention, since byirradiating light on the wall with the largest area, a sufficient lightquantity can be irradiated to the reaction chamber as a whole, opticalinformation can be efficiently obtained.

A twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device, wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises one or two or more irradiation end sections thatirradiate light to the reaction chamber, and one or two or more lightreception end sections that receive light from the reaction chamber, andthe irradiation end section and the light reception end section areprovided such that they make contact with or are in the vicinity of oneof the walls amongst the plurality of walls that enclose the reactionchamber.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the invention, since theirradiation end sections and the light reception end sections areprovided at one of the walls of the reaction chamber, as well as beingable to make a compact configuration, the number of components can bereduced.

A twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises one or two or more irradiation end sections thatirradiate light to the reaction chamber, and one or two or more lightreception end sections that receive light from the reaction chamber, andthe heating and cooling section comprises a heating and cooling endsection that performs heating or cooling and is provided such that itmakes contact with or is in the vicinity of the reaction chamber, andthe irradiation end section of the optical information measuring sectionand the heating and cooling end section are provided such that they makecontact with or are in the vicinity of one of the walls amongst theplurality of walls that enclose the reaction chamber.

Here, the “heating and cooling end section”, in addition to a case whereone end section performs the heating and the cooling as in a Peltierelement, there is a case where it denotes either of a separatelyprovided heating end section or cooling end section, or a case where itdenotes both a heating end section and a cooling end section.

According to the twenty-ninth aspect of the invention, by providing theheating and cooling end section and the irradiation end section on onewall, the device scale is reduced, and it can be efficiently arranged.

A thirtieth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing and reactionmeasuring device wherein a heating body or a cooling body of the heatingand cooling section is provided on the irradiation end section.

As a form thereof, for example, the irradiation end section is anoptical system such as a rod lens, another lens, or a transparent body,the heating body is, for example, a resistance wire such as a nichromewire, and there is a case where it is wound around the optical system,such as a rod lens, or there is a case where the heating body isenclosed within the optical system, such as the rod lens.

Furthermore, a multilayered photosensitive exothermic glass that isbuilt-in to the optical system, such as the rod lens, may be used.Consequently, a heating and cooling end section, a heating end section,or a cooling end section with a translucency can be provided.

According to the thirtieth aspect of the invention, since by providing aheating and cooling end section to the rod lens, the rod lens can beused as a heating and cooling end section, the device scale can bereduced, and the narrow space of the surroundings of the reaction vesselcan be effectively utilized.

A thirty-first aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the heating and cooling section isprovided such that it makes contact with or is in the vicinity of thereaction chamber, and is a heating end section that performs heating ora cooling end section that performs cooling, and the heating end sectionor the cooling end section is provided such that it makes contact withor is in the vicinity of one wall with the largest area amongst theplurality of walls that enclose the reaction chamber. Here, togetherwith the heating end section, the irradiation end section may also beprovided for the wall. For example, a case where the heating end sectionand the irradiation end section are joined corresponds to such a case.

According to the thirty-first aspect of the invention, by providing aheating end section or a cooling end section on the wall with thelargest area amongst the walls that enclose the reaction chamber,heating and cooling can be efficiently performed.

A thirty-second aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the heating and cooling sectioncomprises a heating and cooling end section that performs heating orcooling, and the heating and cooling end section is relatively providedsuch that it can approach and separate with respect to the reactionvessel.

By controlling the position of the heating and cooling end section withrespect to the reaction vessel, it can made to make contact with, or bein the vicinity of, or separated from, the reaction chamber, andconsequently, the heat transmission efficiency can be changed.

In regard to “providing the heating and cooling end section such that itcan approach and separate”, there is a case where an end portion that isable to heat and cool is provided such that it can approach andseparate, a case where only a heating end section is provided such thatit can approach and separate, a case where only a cooling end section isprovided such that it can approach and separate, and a case where aheating end section and a cooling end section are provided such thatthey can approach and separate.

According to the thirty-second aspect of the invention, by controllingthe position of the heating and cooling end section with respect to thereaction vessel, it can make contact with, or be in the vicinity of, orbe separated from the reaction chamber, and consequently, since the heattransmission efficiency can be changed, an efficient and highly accuratetemperature control can be performed.

A thirty-third aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the heating and cooling section is onein which either a heating end section that performs heating or a coolingend section that performs cooling is provided for a plurality ofregions, and for each region, a predetermined temperature amongst aplurality of types is provided,

and an interval between the reaction chamber that is connected to theliquid introducing section, and the heating end section or cooling endsection is relatively movably provided such that they are able tomutually approach or make contact.

Consequently, the setting of temperature resulting from a predeterminedsequence can be replaced with a sequence that passes through the regionsthat provide the corresponding temperature, and movement controlregarding the movement route and the residence time at each region. Atthat time, the plurality of regions are, according to the temperaturesetting sequence of the plurality of types to be set with respect to thereaction chamber, sequentially arranged, for example in a row form, acolumn form, a circumferential form, or a zig-zag form, such that theyhave a spacing at a level at which there are no mutual temperatureeffects. Consequently, the movement distance along the relative movementroute in regard to the regions of the reaction chamber is minimized, andtemperature control can be efficiently performed.

Furthermore, since they are relatively movable, both the liquidintroducing section and the heating and cooling section may be providedsuch that they move, and for example, it is acceptable for the liquidintroducing section to perform the movement between the regions, and inregard to the regions, for the heating end section or the cooling endsection to be movably provided such that it can approach and separatewith respect to the reaction chamber. An example of a plurality of typesof temperatures, for example, is the temperatures that are set in thecase of performing PCR. As the relative movement method between theliquid introducing section and the heating end section or the coolingend section, a device that moves the liquid introducing section itselfin the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, or, a device thatmoves the heating end section or the cooling end section, or acombination of both devices thereof, are possible. Furthermore, inregard to the heating end section or the cooling end section, there is acase where only a predetermined temperature is supplyable, and a casewhere setting of the various temperatures of the same is possible.Moreover, it is acceptable if a region that is set to a giventemperature comprises two separate portions, and they are respectivelyprovided in oppositely facing positions such that they sandwich themovement route of the reaction chamber.

According to the thirty-third aspect of the invention, various settingstowards the temperature can be executed by means of the relativemovement of the liquid introducing section with respect to the regionsof the reaction vessel. Consequently, since the temperature control canbe replaced by the movement control between the reaction chamber and theregions, transportation processes of various test reagents and liquids,and processes of the same level, can be simplified and standardized.Furthermore, compared to a case where temperature control is performedby raising and lowering the temperature of a heating body, such as analuminum block, which has a large heat capacity with respect to thereaction vessel, or a cooling body, the energy efficiency is high.Moreover, compared to the temperature raising and lowering control of aheating body, such as an aluminum block, which has a large capacity, ora cooling body, since it is possible to instantly move to a differenttemperature region, the relaxation time until the temperature stabilizesis shortened, and a high accuracy and a fine temperature control can beperformed.

A thirty-fourth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein a gas jetting section is provided inan interval between adjacent regions, which are arranged along arelative movement route direction with respect to the regions of thereaction chamber, which jets gas of a temperature according to thearrangement such that the movement route direction is crossed.

In particular, in a case where the temperature of the reaction chamberis changed to a lower temperature than the temperature set at a givenstage, low-temperature gas is jetted to the intervals between theadjacent regions. Consequently, the lowering to the low temperature thathas been set can be smoothly performed. The gas jetting section alsoincludes a fan. The gas jetting section is included in the heating andcooling section. The “movement route direction”, for example, is ahorizontal direction, a vertical direction, or a direction along thecircumference. The gas jetting section uses, for example, a gascylinder.

According to the thirty-fourth aspect of the invention, by jetting gasof a predetermined temperature between the adjacent regions, to which aplurality of temperatures have been set, along the relative movementroute, as well as smoothly performing the shifting of the temperature,the mutual temperature effects between the adjacent regions can beblocked.

A thirty-fifth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises the light reception end section, and the intervalbetween the reaction chamber connected to the liquid introducing sectionand the light reception end section is relatively movably provided suchthat they mutually approach or make contact, and the light reception endsection receives the light from the reaction chamber.

Here, it is preferable for the regions for which the light reception endsections are provided to be, including the regions for which the heatingand cooling sections are provided, arranged along the relative movementroute with respect to the regions of the reaction chamber in theprocessing sequence thereof. For example, in a case where measurement isperformed after temperature setting, they are provided such that theyare positioned after the final temperature setting region along themovement route.

According to the thirty-fifth aspect of the invention, the liquidintroducing section is relatively movable at the interval between thelight reception end sections of the optical information measuringsection, and furthermore, the light reception end sections are providedalong the relative movement route. Consequently, by matching thearrangement between the processing procedure and the regions, processingcan be efficiently performed. Furthermore, since the temperature controland the measurement of the optical information can be performed by thesame movement control, the control is simplified.

A thirty-sixth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises one or two or more irradiation end sections thatirradiate light into the reaction chamber, and the irradiation endsections are detachably provided with respect to the reaction vessel.

By controlling the positions of the irradiation end sections withrespect to the reaction vessel, light irradiation with a good efficiencyis performed, and furthermore, in a case where the irradiation endsections and the heating end section are joined, it is possible toperform control of heat transmission, heat blocking, and the like.

According to the thirty-sixth aspect of the invention, by controllingthe positions of the irradiation end sections with respect to thereaction vessel, light irradiation with a good efficiency is performed,and furthermore, in a case where the irradiation end sections and theheating end section are joined, it is possible to perform control ofheat transmission, heat blocking, and the like. Consequently,temperature control and light irradiation can be performed efficientlyand with a high accuracy.

A thirty-seventh aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the heating and cooling sectioncomprises a cooling end section that performs cooling, and the coolingend section is a fan that blows air towards the reaction vessel.

Consequently, particularly at the time the heating end section or theirradiation end section is separated from the reaction vessel, bysending in air by means of the fan, heat dissipation of the reactionchamber is promoted, and the heat control can be performed with goodefficiency.

According to the thirty-seventh aspect of the invention, particularly ina case where, as a consequence, the heating end section and theirradiation end section are separated from the reaction vessel, and thereaction chamber is cooled, by sending in air by means of the fan, heatdissipation of the reaction chamber is promoted, and the heat controlcan be performed with good efficiency.

A thirty-eighth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the reaction chamber of the reactionvessel is formed in a cylindrical shape, is enclosed by twocylindrically shaped large walls and small walls, which are side faces,and is provided with one or two or more light reception end sectionsthat receive the light advancing in the radial direction of thecylinder.

In a case where an irradiation end face is provided for the reactionchamber, it is provided such that the light is irradiated in the radialdirection.

According to the thirty-eighth aspect of the invention, by forming thereaction chamber in an approximate cylindrical shape, and by irradiatingor receiving light with respect to the side faces, uniform opticalinformation can be obtained.

A thirty-ninth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises: two or more irradiation end sections provided at eachirradiation position of the two or more reaction chambers of thereaction vessel; a plurality of types of light sources that respectivelygenerate light having a plurality of types of wavelengths; a lightsource selection section that temporally switches and selects one typeof light from amongst the lights from the light sources, andsimultaneously introduces it to the irradiation end sections; two ormore light reception end sections provided at the light receptionpositions of the two or more reaction chambers of the reaction vessel; alight reception position selection section that temporally switches andselects the light from the light reception end sections; an opticalfilter selection section that temporally switches and selects among theplurality of types of optical filters that the light from the selectedlight reception position is to pass through; and a photoelectric elementthat sequentially inputs the light, which is the light from the selectedlight reception position, that has passed through the selected opticalfilter.

Here, providing a plurality of types of optical filter is, for example,for a case such as where a labeling material for labeling the DNAfragment, and the like, for which the quantity or the concentration isto be measured, that outputs light of a plurality of wavelengths is usedin realtime PCR and the like within the reaction chamber. Consequently,by transmitting light having various wavelengths through an opticalfilter, the presence of the corresponding labeling material, or thequantity thereof, can be measured.

The “photoelectric element” is an electron element utilizing thephotoelectric effect, and includes photoelectric cells,photomultipliers, photoconductive cells, phototransistors, photodiodes,and the like.

The irradiation of the light becomes necessary in order emit light byirradiating excitation light to a fluorescent material, and the like,that may be present in the reaction chamber.

According to the thirty-ninth aspect of the invention and a fortiethaspect of the invention, even in a case where two or more labelingmaterials are used with respect to two or more reaction vessels, theprocess can be performed using a small number of photoelectric elementsby temporally switching the reaction chamber and the type of labelingmaterial that becomes the subject of the labeling material. Thereforethe device scale as a whole can be reduced or simplified.

A fortieth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing and reactionmeasuring device wherein the optical information measuring sectioncomprises: two or more irradiation end sections provided at eachirradiation position of the two or more reaction chambers of thereaction vessel; a plurality of types of light sources that respectivelygenerate light having a plurality of types of wavelengths; a lightsource irradiation position selection section that temporally switchesand selects one type of light from amongst the lights from the lightsources, and temporally switches the selected light and introduces it toeach light reception end section; two or more light reception endsections provided at the light reception positions of the two or morereaction chambers of the reaction vessel; an optical filter selectionsection that temporally switches and selects among the plurality oftypes of optical filters that the light from the selected lightreception position is to pass through; and a photoelectric element thatsequentially inputs the light that has passed through the selectedoptical filter.

A forty-first aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring device wherein the optical information measuringsection comprises an irradiation end section that irradiates light tothe reaction chamber of the reaction vessel, and a light reception endsection that receives the light from the reaction chamber, and a lightreception direction and an opening angle with respect to the reactionchamber of the light reception end section is outside of incidence andreflection routes determined based on an irradiation direction of theirradiation end section and a shape of the reaction chamber, and isdetermined such that the light reception end section receives the lightfrom the reaction chamber.

The irradiation end section and the light reception end sectioncorresponds to, for example, an optical system such as a rod lens, or anend of a fiber. For example, the irradiation end sections are providedin the regions in which the light reception end sections are provided,and in opposing regions that sandwich the movement route through whichthe reaction chamber, which has a translucency, moves. In this case, sothat the optical axis of the irradiation end sections and the opticalaxis of the light reception end sections, or the incident angle to thereaction chamber and the transmission angle from the reaction chamberachieve a fixed finite angle, the optical system, such as a rod lens orthe end of a fiber, is mutually inclined by the angle, or the effect ofthe irradiation end sections on the light reception end sections isreduced by using a fiber rod glass, and the measurement of the opticalinformation can be made a high accuracy. In regard to the position ofthe irradiation end sections and the light reception end sections withrespect to the reaction chamber, there is a case where they arepositioned such that they sandwich the large wall face of the reactionchamber, a case where they are respectively positioned at the large wallface and the small wall face, a case where they are positioned such thatthey sandwich the small wall face, or a case where they are positionedon the same wall face.

A forty-second aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicehaving: one or two or more rotatable rotating bodies; one or two or morevessels that are connectably formed such that they are detachable on therotating body; and a rotational drive section that rotationally drivesthe rotating body, and the vessel has: a storage chamber, in whichliquid is storable, that has an opening part; and a working chamber thatis communicated with the storage chamber and is provided such that thepassing of liquid is possible, and a medium that performs apredetermined operation on the liquid interrupts a passage route of theliquid, and the working chamber is formed such that it is positionedfarther away from a rotation axis of the rotating body than the storagechamber, and liquid stored in the storage chamber is introduced into theworking chamber.

The vessel may be made connectable to the rotating body via a cap.

Here, examples of the “medium” include a stationary phase such as afilter or a column as mentioned below. The filter includes a case whereliquid is passed through by means of a plurality of piercing holes orvoids that have a predetermined size (pore diameter or the averagediameter or length of the voids), and a predetermined material withinthe liquid is separated, or a case where it is separated by means ofadsorption. A case in which the rotation axis of the rotating bodypasses through the vessel corresponds to rotation about its own axis,and the device scale as a whole can be made smaller. Consequently, forexample, it can be utilized in the extraction and the purification ofvarious biological materials, such as nucleic acids, oligonucleotides,and proteins.

A forty-third aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicewherein the rotating body is a rotatable nozzle in which the suction anddischarge of gas is possible, and the nozzle has a rotation axis alongan axial direction thereof.

A forty-fourth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicewherein the medium is a filter having a predetermined pore diameter.

A forty-fifth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicewherein the working chamber comprises a filter chamber that iscommunicated with the storage chamber and has the filter, and a housingchamber that is communicated with the filter chamber and that isdetachably installed with respect to the filter chamber, and liquid thatis introduced to the filter chamber as a result of rotation of therotating body reaches the housing body by passing through the filter.

Here, the material transmitted through the filter is stored in thehousing chamber. The interval between the housing chamber and the filterchamber is, for example, connected by an installation member.

A forty-sixth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicewherein the medium is a predetermined stationary phase, the workingchamber is communicated with a column in which the medium is stored andthe column, and comprises a housing chamber that is detachably installedwith respect to the column, and liquid introduced into the column as aresult of rotation of the rotating body reaches the housing chamber bypassing through the column.

Here, the “stationary phase” is a solid or a liquid. In regard to thecolumn, for example, the sample mixture is moved on the column by anappropriate eluent (mobile phase), and it is used to separate byutilizing the difference in movement speed based on the differences inthe adsorptivity and the partition coefficient of the components.

A forty-seventh aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing devicewherein the working chamber is formed thinner or narrower than thestorage chamber.

According to the forty-second aspect of the invention, the forty-fourthaspect of the invention, the forty-fifth aspect of the invention, theforty-sixth aspect of the invention, and the forty-seventh aspect of theinvention, by rotating, at the very least, the storage chamber and thevarious vessels which have a working chamber further away from therotation axis by connecting to the rotating body, under atmosphericpressure, even in a case where passing of the liquid with respect to themedium provided in the working chamber is difficult, the passing of theliquid can be simplified by utilizing centrifugal force. Furthermore, byperforming the introduction of the liquid by connecting various vessels,a wide variety of processes can be performed. Moreover, by achieving theintroduction of the liquid by means of the rotation of the vessel aboutits own axis, the working region is made smaller compared to a casewhere revolution is utilized, and processing can be efficientlyperformed. In particular, by using a filter, and the like, that has afunction of extracting or purifying nucleic acids, proteins, and thelike, as the medium, extraction and purification of biologicalmaterials, such as nucleic acids and proteins, can be performed. Then,by combining with the PCR process, processes such as extraction,amplification, expression, and purification of nucleic acids, proteins,and the like, can be consistently performed. Furthermore, according tothe forty-fourth aspect of the invention or the forty-fifth aspect ofthe invention, by providing a detachable housing chamber with respect tothe working chamber, since a liquid to which a predetermined operationhas been applied is stored and can be easily taken out, it is easy touse. Moreover, according to the forty-sixth aspect of the invention, aswell as applying a predetermined operation to the liquid, a process thatperforms thinning or capillaration of the liquid to which the operationhas been applied can be efficiently performed at the same time.

According to the forty-third aspect of the invention, a rotatable nozzleis utilized as the rotating body. Consequently, not only a centrifugalforce, but the pressure of suction and discharging can be utilized.Hence dispensing of the liquid into the storage chamber can also beperformed. Furthermore, depending on the shape of the vessel, thepressure of suction and discharging can be utilized for the introductionof the liquid to the reaction chamber. Hence a wide variety of processescan be consistently performed.

A forty-eighth aspect of the invention is a liquid introducing andreaction measuring method comprising the steps of storing a liquid whichbecomes a processing subject, in a storage chamber of a reaction vesselaccording the first aspect of the invention to the seventeenth aspect ofthe invention; introducing the liquid from the storage chamber to thereaction chamber of the reaction vessel; sealing the liquid in thereaction chamber by blocking an opening provided in the reactionchamber, or a flow passage; performing heating and cooling of the liquidsealed in the reaction chamber; and measuring optical information fromthe reaction chamber.

Here, the “liquid”, for example, includes target materials such asnucleic acids, and necessary test reagents. “Storage” is, for example,performed by using a dispensing device. “Introduction” is, for example,performed by connecting the reaction vessel to the nozzle serving as theliquid introducing section, and rotating the reaction vessel, or byusing the suction and discharge mechanism of the dispensing deviceserving as a liquid introducing section.

According to the forty-eighth aspect of the invention, heating andcooling is performed by the heating and cooling section provided makingcontact with, or close to, the reaction chamber of the reaction vessel.Accordingly, a metallic block or the like is not necessary, and inregard to the thinned or capillarated liquid in a state in which it isnot contaminated by gas or bubbles, temperature control of the liquidstored within the vessel can be performed with high precision andfaithful responsiveness. Furthermore, by heating or cooling the thinnedor capillarated liquid in a state in which it is not contaminated by gasor bubbles, the process can be advanced quickly by shortening the timefrom giving the heating or cooling instruction until the liquidtemperature is uniformly distributed. Furthermore, according to thepresent aspect of the invention, a series of processes can be automatedby using the reaction vessel.

Moreover, since the optical information within the reaction chamber ismeasured in a state where the reaction chamber is sealed and it is notcontaminated by gas or bubbles, optical information of a high precisioncan be obtained.

In particular, if it is made so that the liquid is heated or cooled withthe heating and cooling section sandwiched from both sides along thethickness direction, an even quicker and more efficient heating andcooling of the liquid can be performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 2] is a perspective view showing a reaction vessel and a capaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 3] is an explanatory drawing of a reaction vessel according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 4] is a partially expanded perspective view of a reaction vesselaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 5] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a secondembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 6] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 7] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 8] is a cross-sectional view of a reaction vessel according to thefourth embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 9] is a drawing showing a case where a reaction vessel accordingto a fifth embodiment of the present invention is connected to a nozzle,and reaction measurement is to be performed.

[FIG. 10] is a drawing showing a case where a reaction vessel accordingto a sixth embodiment to an eighth embodiment of the present inventionis connected to a nozzle, and reaction measurement is to be performed.

[FIG. 11] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a ninthembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 12] is a cross-sectional view and an exploded view of a reactionvessel according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 13] is an overall view showing a reaction measurement processingsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 14] is a side view showing a liquid introducing device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 15] is a drawing showing a filter built-in tip, a filter built-invessel, and a column connection vessel according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

[FIG. 16] is a drawing showing an example of a trigger light source anda light receiving section according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[FIG. 17] is a drawing showing an example of a trigger light source anda light receiving section according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

[FIG. 18] is a drawing showing an example of a rod lens according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 19] is a drawing showing a rotation mechanism according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 20] is a drawing showing a reaction vessel according to a tenthembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 21] is a drawing showing a PCR unit according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

[FIG. 22] is a process flow diagram according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, by introducing the homogenizedsuspension into the reaction chamber of the reaction vessel by utilizingcentrifugal force or pressure, easy, certain, and uniform thinning orcapillaration and sealing is achieved without contamination with bubblesor gas. As a result, the precision and responsiveness of the temperaturecontrol of the liquid is increased, and, for example, processes such asthe measurement of quantities in real time PCR can be made quicker andmore efficient.

Next, embodiments of the present invention are explained based on thedrawings. Unless particularly specified, these embodiments should not beinterpreted as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the sameparts in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference symbols, andthe explanations have been omitted.

FIGS. 1 (a), (b), and (c) are a perspective view, a side view, and afront view showing a reaction vessel 11 according to a first embodimentof the present invention. In FIGS. 1 (a) and (c), in order to clearlyshow the interior, it is shown in a state where a transparent film 18,which forms a portion thereof and is a soft material, is removed.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the reaction vessel 11 comprises: a cylindricalstorage chamber 12 in which liquid is storable, which has an openingpart 13 in the upper section; a reaction chamber 15 that is communicatedwith the storage chamber 12 via a liquid introduction flow passage 16and a discharge flow passage 17 and is formed thinner than the storagechamber 12; and the liquid introduction flow passage 16, and thedischarge flow passage 17. The liquid introduction flow passage 16, thedischarge flow passage 17, and the reaction chamber 15 are formed in anapproximate layer form that sandwiches the same, and the entiretythereof is a translucent reaction section 14. In the reaction vessel 11according to the present embodiment, since the reaction chamber 15 iscommunicated with the liquid introduction flow passage 16 and thedischarge flow passage 17, it corresponds to the fluid circuit mentionedabove. In regard to the opening part 13, a cap 20 mentioned below isengagingly inserted and is connectable, and the cap 20 is furtherconnectable by means of threading to a nozzle 22 mentioned below,serving as a rotating body. Accordingly, the opening part 13 isconnectable to the nozzle via the cap 20. That is to say, in regard tothe reaction vessel 11, as a liquid introducing section that introducesliquid into the reaction chamber 15, this belongs in a category thatintroduces by using a rotating body and applying centrifugal force.

The reaction chamber 15 is on the underside of the storage chamber 12,and with respect to the axis of the opening part 13 or the storagechamber 12, it is provided in a position farther away than the storagechamber 12 in terms of the position coordinate of the center of gravityof the chambers. When the reaction vessel 11 is installed on the nozzle22 mentioned below, serving as a rotating body, the axis of the openingpart 13 or the storage chamber 12 matches the rotation axis of therotating body.

Accordingly, in a case where the rotating body is rotated, a centrifugalforce is applied to the liquid within the storage chamber 12, and theliquid is introduced into the reaction chamber 15 of the reactionsection 14, which is in a position farther away than the rotation axis.The reaction chamber 15, the liquid introduction flow passage 16, and aportion of the discharge flow passage 17 are provided in a planar frame14 a to which bottomed grooves have been formed, and one facial side ofthe frame 14 a is sealed by the film 18 mentioned below. The liquidintroduction flow passage 16 has an entrance at the inner face of thestorage chamber 12 and has an exit at the upper portion of the reactionchamber 15, and the discharge flow passage 17 has an entrance at thelower section of the reaction chamber 15 and an exit at the inner bottomface of the storage chamber, and communicates between the reactionchamber 15 and the storage chamber 12.

The liquid introduction flow passage 16 comprises an elastic valve 16 aas an elastic block material, which is formed from an elastic body, andthe liquid introduction flow passage 16 is blockable by pressing theelastic valve 16 a. Furthermore, the discharge flow passage 17 comprisesa narrow inclined passage 17 a that communicates with the lower sectionof the reaction chamber 15 and proceeds in a diagonally upwarddirection, a hole section 17 b that protrudes out on the film 18 sidesuch that it is sealable by pressing a small distance of the film 18,and an exit 17 d that is provided on the inner bottom section of thestorage chamber 12.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the discharge flow passage 17 comprises avertical passage 17 c that fluidly connects from the hole section 17 bto the exit 17 d in the vertical direction parallel to the axis of thecylinder of the storage chamber, and the vertical passage 17 c isprovided such that it somewhat protrudes from the side in which thebottom face of the reaction chamber 15, and the like, of the planarframe 14 a is provided. Furthermore, on the side face that opposinglyfaces the vertical passage 17 c of the frame 14 a, that is to say, theopening side of the reaction section 14, the film 18 is installed byadhesion, and the like, to the frame 14 a such that the opening thereofis blocked, and it blocks the reaction chamber 15, and the openings ofthe flow passages 16 and 17. The film 18 is formed by a soft material,for example, by polyethylene or silicone, and the like, that is easilydeformed by a pressing force. Consequently, although the reactionchamber 15 is enclosed by a plurality of walls, at the time of reaction,the light reception end section 78 of a bundle of fibers, and the like,on which pressing sections 101 and 102 are provided, is arranged suchthat it is positioned on the exterior of the wall to which this film 18is provided, and on the wall on the opposite side thereof, a rod lens 75that irradiates the light from the trigger light source 71, whichgenerates excitation light, is positioned. Here, a resistance wire ofthe heating body 79 is wrapped around the rod lens 75 in order to makethe rod lens 75 function as a heating end section. These light receptionend section 78 and rod lens 75 are detachably provided with respect tothe large wall of the reaction chamber 15.

By providing a portion of the discharge flow passage 17 near andparallel to the axis, in a case where the reaction vessel 11 is rotatedabout the axis, the introduction of the liquid through the dischargeflow passage 17 by a centrifugal force is lessened.

As shown in FIG. 1 (c), the elastic valve 16 a of the liquidintroduction flow passage 16 comprises on the interior, as mentionedbelow, a hole section 16 b and a void 16 c that is sealable by pressing.Furthermore, in regard to the upper portion inner face 19 of the storagechamber 12, the cap 20 mentioned below has an engagable inner diameter.On the outer face of the storage chamber 12, the detaching flange 12 aof the reaction vessel 11 is provided. Furthermore, the light from thereaction chamber 15, which stores a fluorescent material, and the like,which luminesces by means of irradiation by excitation light, is, unlikeFIG. 1 (b), for example, received from a single wall amongst the wallsthat enclose the reaction chamber. In this example, the light isreceived from a light reception end section that is positioned on apredetermined small wall, and the light is introduced to the lightreceiving section 72 through an optical fiber.

FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view showing the cap 20 that is to beconnected to the reaction vessel 11, and the reaction vessel 11.

The cap 20 is a hollow cylinder-shaped member that is engaginglyinserted and connected to the opening part 13 of the storage chamber 12of the reaction vessel 11. The cap 20 has three types of annularprotruding sections that make contact with the inner face of the openingpart, and they are, from the bottom, airtight rims 20 a and 20 b, and alocking rim 20 c. Furthermore, the inner face of the cap 20 is a nozzleengaging section 20 d that engages a nozzle not shown in the drawing.Furthermore, on the outer face of the cap 20, a plurality ofprotuberances are provided along the axial direction of the cap 20, sothat it is engagable with engaging sections 47 a and 47 b mentionedbelow, and consequently, the automatic detachment of the cap 20 becomespossible.

FIG. 2 (b) is a drawing showing a state where the cap 20 is connected tothe reaction vessel 11 by engagement.

FIG. 3 (a) is a drawing showing a front perspective view for showing thereaction vessel 11 in more detail, and is a state where the cap 20 isengaged and connected to the opening part 13. In the drawing, referencesymbol 14 b denotes a shallow indentation provided on the frame 14 a. Across-sectional view cut along the AA line thereof is shown in FIG. 3(b). In this drawing, a state where the airtight rims 20 a and 20 b, andthe locking rim 20 c, of the cap are making contact with the inner faceof the upper portion of the storage chamber 12 is shown. Furthermore,the vicinity of the hole section 17 b provided on the lower portion ofthe vertical passage 17 c is shown enlarged in FIG. 3 (d). Since thehole section 17 b protrudes out to the film 18 side and is providedapproaching the film 18 with a given spacing, by pressing the film 18from the exterior, the hole section 17 b is blocked by the film 18, andhence the discharge flow passage 17 is blocked.

Furthermore, FIG. 3 (c) is a drawing showing the main portions of across section cut along the CC line of FIG. 3 (a). The portion is oneexhibiting the liquid introduction flow passage 16 portion to which theelastic valve 16 a has been provided, and it is provided between theframe 14 a and the film 18. In regard to the elastic valve 16 a, asbecomes clearer by additionally referring to FIG. 4, it is formed fromthe hole section 16 b, and the void 16 c that is communicated with thehole section 16 b, and the liquid introduction flow passage 16 can beblocked as a result of blocking the void 16 c by pressing the void 16 c.Consequently, the liquid introduced into the reaction chamber 15 can besealed within the reaction chamber 15.

FIG. 5 shows a reaction vessel 11 a according to a second embodiment.The reaction vessel 11 a differs from the reaction vessel 11 mentionedabove in that by providing a rotation supporting axle 14 c along theaxis of the opening part 13 of the storage chamber 12 on the undersideof the reaction section 14 of the reaction vessel 11 a, prevention ofcore deviation at the time of rotation can be achieved.

Next, the reaction vessel, which belongs in a category wherein liquid isintroduced by the suction and discharging of a nozzle, is explainedbased on FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 shows a reaction vessel 31 according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 (a) shows a perspective view of the reaction vessel 31, FIG. 6(b) is a front view thereof, FIG. 6 (c) is a cross-sectional side viewthereof, FIG. 6 (d) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of region Fshown in FIG. 6 (c), and FIG. 6 (e) is an enlarged perspective view of apartial portion shown in FIG. 6 (d).

The reaction vessel 31 comprises a cylindrical storage chamber 32 thathas a thick diameter, a diamond-shaped prismatic reaction chamber 33that is formed thinner than the storage chamber 32, and a thin diametersection 34 provided on the lower side of the reaction chamber 33 that isformed thinner than the cylinder.

An interval between the storage chamber 32 and the reaction chamber 33,and an interval between the reaction chamber 33 and the exterior, areconnected by a flow passage 32 c, and a thin diameter section 34,respectively. Consequently, in regard to the reaction vessel 31according to the present embodiment, since the reaction chamber 33 iscommunicated with two flow passages, it corresponds to the fluidcircuit. Furthermore, blocking positions of the flow passage 32 c andthe thin diameter section 34 are provided with elastic valves 35 and 36that are blockable as a result of pressing.

In regard to the storage chamber 32, a nozzle not shown in the drawingis connectable to the opening part 32 a thereof by engagement, and inthe interior of the storage chamber 32 and on the lower side of theconnection portion of the nozzle, for example, a heat insulating filter32 b is provided so as to partition the storage chamber 32.Consequently, the heating and cooling effects towards the reactionchamber 33 can be increased. Furthermore, the lower side of the storagechamber 32 is formed such that it becomes thinner at the end, and iscommunicated with the flow passage 32 c. Furthermore, a plurality ofprotuberances 32 d are provided on the outer face of the storage chamber32, and by means of the protuberances 32 d, it becomes automaticallyremovable as a result of a tip removal plate 23 a mentioned below.

One of the large walls of the reaction chamber 33 is lined with a film37 that is formed from a soft material that is deformable by means ofpressing, and in regard to the other large wall, as well as it beingformed by the frame of the reaction vessel 31, a depression 38 thatcovers the reaction chamber 33 is provided on the frame in order toincrease the thermal conductivity, and it is thinly formed.

The elastic valves 35 and 36 comprise, as shown in FIG. 6 (e), a holesection 39, and a void section 40 that is blockable by means ofpressing.

FIG. 7 is a tip-shaped reaction vessel 41 according to a fourthembodiment, and shows a cap 42 through which passage of fluid ispossible, and a reaction vessel connection portion in which thetip-shaped reaction vessel 41 is connected to the nozzle 22 of theliquid introducing device 50, which is also a rotatable and verticallyand horizontally movable reaction vessel liquid introducing device.

FIG. 7 (a) is a disassembled perspective view of the reaction vesselconnection portion of the liquid introducing device 50, FIG. 7 (b) showsthe reaction vessel connection portion of the liquid introducing device50, and FIG. 7 (c) to (e) shows the automatic detachment and connectionoperations from the liquid introducing device 50 with respect to thetip-shaped reaction vessel 41 at the time of movement using the liquidintroducing device 50 to the region in which the heat conducting blocks49 a and 49 b have been provided as heating end sections of the heatingand cooling section, and heating and cooling is performed.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the tip-shaped reaction vessel 41 comprises; acylindrical thick diameter section 45, a thin diameter section 46 thatis provided on the lower side of the thick diameter section 45 and thatis formed thinner than the thick diameter section 45, an opening part 45a that is provided on the upper side of the thick diameter section 45,has an outer diameter even thicker than the thick diameter section 45,and in which the end section 42 b of the cap 42 is engaginglyinsertable, and a cylindrical core 43 that is stored between the thickdiameter section 45 and the thin diameter section 46. A plurality ofprotrusion sections 43 a are provided on the outer circumferential faceof the core 43 such that they protrude in the outer direction as spacersfor creating a space with the inner circumferential face of the thickdiameter section 45 or the thin diameter section 46. The space betweenthe outer circumferential face of this core 43 and the innercircumferential face of the thick diameter section 45 corresponds to thereaction chamber. Furthermore, the space above the core 43 on the upperside of the thick diameter section 45 corresponds to the storagechamber.

Moreover, the lower end of the core 43 is formed matching the shape ofthe thin diameter section 46 such that it becomes thinner at the end,and the upper end of the core 43 comprises a blocking section 43 b thatcan disable the passage of fluid by blocking the end section 42 b of thecap 42. In this example, the blocking section 43 b is formed in aconical shape corresponding to a hole section 42 f (refer to FIG. 8)provided on the end section 42 b of the cap 42 that expands in the outerdirection.

Furthermore, the cap 42 is an entirely hollow approximately cylindricalshape, and it comprises a base section 42 a, an end section 42 b thathas an outer diameter that is formed narrower than the outer diameter ofthe base section 42 a, and an engaging section 42 e that has a thickerouter diameter than the outer diameter of the base section 42 a to whichthe end of the nozzle 22 is engagable. A rim 42 c that adheres to theinner face of the opening part 45 a of the reaction vessel 41, and anannular groove 42 d, is provided on the end section 42 b.

As shown in FIG. 7 (c) to FIG. 7 (e), a state in which the reactionvessel 41 has been moved to the heat conducting blocks 49 a and 49 b ofthe heating and cooling section by means of a liquid introducing device50 connected to the nozzle is shown. Furthermore, the liquid introducingdevice 50 comprises a tip removal plate 23 a for stripping thetip-shaped reaction vessel 41, that and has a pierced semicircular notchthat is somewhat smaller than the outer diameter of the opening part 45a, and is larger than the outer diameter of the base section 42 a of thecap 42. The tip removal plate 23 a is movably provided in the verticaldirection, and approachably and separatably provided with respect to thereaction vessel 41, and consequently the axis of the nozzle 22.Furthermore, cap engaging sections 47 a and 47 b that are engagable tothe stepped portion of the engaging section 42 e of the cap, areprovided for the liquid introducing device 50 such that they sandwichthe engaging section 42 e of the cap 42 from above and below. The capengaging section 47 a of the lower side has a semicircular notch that islarger than the outer diameter of the base section 42 a of the cap 42and is smaller than the engaging section 42 e, and the cap engagingsection 47 b of the upper side has a semicircular notch that is largerthan the outer diameter of the nozzle 22 and is smaller than the outerdiameter of the engaging section 42 e. Furthermore, the distance betweenthe cap engaging section 47 a of the upper side and the cap engagingsection 47 b of the lower side is fixed, and these cap engaging sections47 a and 47 b are not only vertically movably provided, but alsoapproachably and separatably provided with respect to the axis of thenozzle 22.

FIG. 7 (c) shows a state in which by simultaneously lowering the capengaging sections 47 a and 47 b, and the tip removal plate 23 a to thelower side, the tip-shaped reaction vessel 41 to which the cap 42 isconnected is removed from the nozzle 22, and the thick diameter sectionof the reaction vessel 41 is supported in a position sandwiched by theheat conducting blocks 49 a and 49 b.

FIG. 7 (d) shows a state in which only the tip removal plate 23 a islowered in a state where the cap 42 is connected to the nozzle 22, andthe reaction vessel 41 has been removed from the cap 42.

FIG. 7 (e) shows a state in which the reaction vessel 41 is sandwichedby the heat conducting blocks 49 a and 49 b in a state where thereaction vessel 41 has been connected to the nozzle 22 via the cap 42.

FIG. 8 (a) is a cross-sectional view cut at a plane through the axis ofthe nozzle 22 in FIG. 7 (e).

As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of the reaction vessel 41in FIG. 8 (b), the gap section 41 a enclosed by the outer face of thecore 43 and the inner face of the thick diameter section 45 correspondsto the reaction chamber, and the space section 41 b formed on the upperside of the thick diameter section 45 and the upper portion of the core43 corresponds to the storage chamber. Furthermore, the hole section 42f, that has a shape that is blockable by means of the blocking section43 b of the core 43, is pierced through the end section 42 b of the cap42. The hole section 42 f is blocked by the blocking section 43 b in astate where the end section 42 b is most deeply inserted into theopening part 45 a of the reaction vessel 41. A partitioning filter 42 gis provided on the upper side of the interior of the end section 42 b,and the transmission of heat from the reaction chamber to the nozzle 22is prevented. That is to say, since the reaction vessel 41 according tothe present embodiment is provided with two openings in the reactionchamber thereof, it corresponds to the fluid circuit.

In FIG. 8 (c), by moving the end section 42 b of the cap 42 and the capengaging sections 47 a and 47 b in the upper direction, the cap engagingsections 47 a and 47 b are hooked onto the engaging section 42 e of thecap 42, and the cap 42 is somewhat moved in the upper direction. Then,the blocking section 43 b of the core 43 is removed from the holesection 42 f, and the nozzle 22 is communicated with the reaction vessel41 via the partitioning filter 42 g of the cap 42. Consequently, thethin diameter section 46 of the reaction vessel 41 is inserted into thevessel in which liquid has been stored, and by performing suction of gasby means of the nozzle 22 in a state where the position of the cap 42 issuch that the hole section 42 f is opened, the liquid is introduced tothe space section 41 b through the thin diameter section 46 of thereaction vessel 41 and the gap section 41 a. Thereafter, it is made astate where the end section 42 b of the cap 42 is most deeply insertedinto the opening part 45 a of the reaction vessel, and as well as thehole section 42 f being blocked by the blocking section 43 b, as aresult of the end of the thin diameter section 46 being inserted intoand engaging another cap that is not shown in the drawing, it ispossible for liquid to be sealed within the gap section 41 a.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a reaction vessel 211 according to a fifthembodiment, wherein it is connected to the bottom end section of anozzle 22 serving as the rotating body of the liquid introducing device50, via a cap 20, and shows the positional relationship between; a rodlens 75 serving as the irradiation end section of the opticalinformation measuring section, in a case where it has been transportedto the reaction measuring position by the liquid introducing device 50,a light reception end section 78 that corresponds to, for example, theend of an optical fiber, and a long and narrow shaped heating body 79 ofthe heating and cooling section, which has been wrapped around the rodlens 75. In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the cap 20, the elastic valve, and thelike, have been conceptually shown. In regard to the rod lens 75, towhich the heating body 79 has been wrappingly installed, as well asbeing the irradiation end section, it corresponds to a heating endsection.

FIG. 9 (a) is a front cross-sectional view showing the reaction vessel211. The reaction vessel 211 comprises: a storage chamber 212 in which aliquid is storable, that has an opening part; an approximatelytriangular prism shaped reaction chamber 215 that is communicated withthe storage chamber 212 and is formed thinner than the storage chamber132; and a discharge flow passage 217 that communicates between thestorage chamber 212 and the reaction chamber 215. The discharge flowpassage 217 and the reaction chamber 215 are formed in a layer formsandwiching the same, and the entirety thereof is provided on atranslucent reaction section 214. Reference symbols 213 and 216 of FIG.9 (a) denote elastic valves serving as the elastic block membersmentioned above, and as a result of pressing by the pressing sections101 and 102 shown in FIG. 9 (b), the void is closed, and it is sealable.In regard to the reaction vessel 211 according to the presentembodiment, since two openings are provided in the reaction chamber 215thereof, it corresponds to the fluid circuit.

In regard to the reaction vessel 211, as the rotating body of the liquidintroducing device 50, suction and discharge of the fluid is possible,and the inner surface of the upper side of the cap 20 is threaded withthe outer surface of the threaded section 23 of a nozzle 22, which isrotatable about the axis thereof, such that it covers the lower endsection of the nozzle 22. As a result, contact between the nozzle 22 andthe reaction vessel 211 that is to be connected, or with the storedliquid thereof, can be prevented. The outer surface of the cap 20 isthreaded, and by threading with the inner surface of the opening part ofthe reaction vessel 211, the reaction vessel 211 is connected to thenozzle 22. A cylinder (not shown in the drawing) which is communicatedwith the nozzle 22 and is rotatably provided together with the nozzle22, is provided on the inner section of the cylindrical element 21, andis rotatably supported on the cylindrical element 21 via a bearing (notshown in the drawing). In order to perform the suction and dischargingof the fluid of the nozzle 22, a rod 24 which vertically moves a plunger(not shown in the drawing) that adjusts the pressure within the nozzle22, is provided within the cylinder. On the upper end of the rod 24, anend section 24 a which has a larger diameter than the diameter of therod 24, is provided. The rod 24 which is inserted into the rotatablecylinder, is non-rotatably provided in the nozzle 22 or the cylinder.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the interval between thethreaded section 23 and the cap 20, and the interval between the cap 20and the opening part of the reaction vessel 211 is connected as a resultof threading. Accordingly, it is necessary to thread the threadedportion in the tightening direction by rotation of the nozzle 22 servingas the rotating body.

According to the reaction vessel 211 of the present embodiment, thereaction chamber 215 is provided on the lower side of the storagechamber 212 in a position farther away from the rotation axis than thestorage chamber 212, that is to say, the axis of the opening part.Consequently, the liquid that is dispensed into the storage chamber 212by the dispensing tip by means of the suction and discharging of thenozzle 22, can be introduced into the reaction chamber 215 by the nozzle22 rotating about the axis thereof, as a result of centrifugal force.When the liquid is introduced into the reaction chamber 215, the airthat is present within the reaction chamber 215 is discharged to withinthe storage chamber 212 through the discharge flow passage 217, and in acase where the reaction chamber 215 is filled with the liquid, it issealed by pressing the elastic valves 213 and 216. The reaction chamber215 and the discharge flow passage 217 are provided on a frame 214 a inwhich bottomed grooves or depressions have been formed. As shown in FIG.9 (b), the opening of the frame 214 a is blocked by a transparent thinplate or the film 218.

As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the light reception end section 78, on whichpressing sections 101 and 102 that press the elastic valves 213 and 216have been provided, and the rod lens 75, and the heating body 79, whichcorrespond to an irradiation end section that irradiates excitationlight that excites the fluorescent material, are provided such that theysandwich the two large walls of the reaction chamber 215 that have alarge area. This light reception end section 78 and this rod lens 75,which has a heating function, are detachably provided with respect tothe reaction chamber 215 by means of an opening and closing mechanism 81shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 10 shows examples of reaction vessels 131, 141, and 151 accordingto a sixth embodiment to an eighth embodiment, which are connected tothe lower end section of the nozzle 22 serving as the rotating body ofthe liquid introducing device 50, via the cap 20, and shows thepositional relationship between the light reception end section 76 ofthe optical information measuring section in a case where it has beentransported to the reaction measuring position by the liquid introducingdevice 50. In these cases, the pressing section may be provided not onthe light reception end section 76, but, for example, on the rod lens 75serving as the irradiation end section.

FIG. 10 (a) is a front cross-sectional view showing the reaction vessel131 according to the sixth embodiment. The reaction vessel 131comprises; a storage chamber 132, in which a liquid is storable, thathas an opening part, a regular square prismatic reaction chamber 135that is communicated with the storage chamber 132 and is formed thinnerthan the storage chamber 132, and a liquid introduction flow passage 133and a discharge flow passage 137 that communicate between the storagechamber 132 and the reaction chamber 135. The liquid introduction flowpassage 133 communicates between the side face of the storage chamber132 and the upper portion of the reaction chamber 135, and the dischargeflow passage 137 communicates between the bottom portion of the reactionchamber 135 and the inner bottom face of the storage chamber 132.Reference symbols 136 and 138 denote elastic valves, which are blockableby pressing.

In regard to the nozzle 22 serving as the rotating body of the liquidintroducing device 50, this is as explained in FIG. 9, and theexplanation is omitted.

According to the reaction vessel 131 of the present embodiment, thereaction chamber 135 is provided on the lower side of the storagechamber 132 in a position farther away from the rotation axis of thenozzle 22 serving as a rotating body, than the storage chamber 132, thatis to say, the axis of the opening part of the storage chamber 132.Consequently, the liquid that is dispensed into the storage chamber 132by the dispensing tip by means of the suction and discharging of thenozzle 22, can be introduced into the reaction chamber 135 by the nozzle22 rotating about the axis thereof, as a result of centrifugal force.When the liquid is introduced into the reaction chamber 135, the airthat is present within the reaction chamber 135 is discharged to withinthe storage chamber 132 through the discharge flow passage 137, and in acase where the reaction chamber 135 is filled with the liquid, it issealed by pressing the elastic valves 136 and 138. The reaction chamber135, the liquid introduction flow passage 133, and the discharge flowpassage 137 are provided on a frame 134 a to which bottomed grooves ordepressions have been formed. The opening of the frame 134 a is blockedby a film.

FIG. 10 (b) is a front cross-sectional view showing the reaction vessel141 according to the seventh embodiment. The reaction vessel 141comprises; a storage chamber 142, in which a liquid is storable, thathas an opening part, a cylindrical reaction chamber 145 that iscommunicated with the storage chamber 142 and is formed thinner than thestorage chamber 142, and a liquid introduction flow passage 143 and adischarge flow passage 147 that communicate between the storage chamber142 and the reaction chamber 145. The liquid introduction flow passage143 communicates between the bottom face of the storage chamber 142 anda somewhat upper portion of the reaction chamber 145, and the dischargeflow passage 147 connects between a somewhat lower portion of thereaction chamber 145 and the liquid introduction flow passage 143.Reference symbols 146 and 148 denote elastic valves, which are blockableby pressing.

In regard to the nozzle 22 serving as the rotating body of the liquidintroducing device 50, this is as explained in FIG. 9, and theexplanation is omitted.

According to the reaction vessel 141 of the present embodiment, thereaction chamber 145 is provided on the lower side of the storagechamber 142 in a position farther away from the rotation axis than thestorage chamber 142, that is to say, the axis of the opening part of thestorage chamber 142. Consequently, the liquid that is dispensed into thestorage chamber 142 by the dispensing tip by means of the suction anddischarging of the nozzle 22, can be introduced into the reactionchamber 145 by the nozzle 22 rotating about the axis thereof, as aresult of centrifugal force. When the liquid is introduced into thereaction chamber 145, the air that is present within the reactionchamber 145 is discharged to within the storage chamber 142 through thedischarge flow passage 147, and in a case where the reaction chamber 145is filled with the liquid, it is sealed by pressing the elastic valves146 and 148. The reaction chamber 145, the liquid introduction flowpassage 143, and the discharge flow passage 147 are provided on a frame144 a in which bottomed grooves or depressions have been formed. Theopening of the frame 214 a is blocked by a film.

FIG. 10 (c) is a front cross-sectional view showing the reaction vessel151 according to the eighth embodiment. The reaction vessel 151comprises; a storage chamber 152, in which a liquid is storable, thathas an opening part, a regular square prismatic reaction chamber 155that is communicated with the storage chamber 152 and is formed thinnerthan the storage chamber 152, and a liquid introduction flow passage 153that communicates between the storage chamber 152 and the reactionchamber 155. The liquid introduction flow passage 153 communicatesbetween the bottom face of the storage chamber 152 and the upper portionof the reaction chamber 155. Reference symbol 156 denotes an elasticvalve, which is blockable by pressing. In regard to the reaction vessel151 according to the present embodiment, since the reaction chamber 15has only one opening, it corresponds to the fluid storage section. Onthe other hand, in regard to the reaction vessels 131 and 141, since thereaction chambers 135 and 145 respectively have two openings, theycorrespond to fluid circuits.

In regard to the nozzle 22 serving as the rotating body of the liquidintroducing device 50, this is as explained in FIG. 9, and theexplanation is omitted.

According to the reaction vessel 151 of the present embodiment, thereaction chamber 155 is provided on the lower side of the storagechamber 152 in a position farther away from the rotation axis of therotating body than the storage chamber 152, that is to say, the axis ofthe opening part of the storage chamber 152. Consequently, the liquidthat is dispensed into the storage chamber 152 by the dispensing tip bymeans of the suction and discharging of the nozzle 22, can be introducedinto the reaction chamber 155 by the nozzle 22 rotating about the axisthereof, as a result of centrifugal force. When the liquid is introducedinto the reaction chamber 155, the air that is present within thereaction chamber 155 is discharged to within the storage chamber 152through the same liquid introduction flow passage 153, and in a casewhere the reaction chamber 155 is filled with the liquid, it is sealedby pressing the elastic valve 156. The reaction chamber 155 and theliquid introduction flow passage 153 are provided on a frame 154 a towhich bottomed grooves or depressions have been formed. The opening ofthe frame 154 a is blocked by a film.

Next, a reaction vessel 221 according to a ninth embodiment is explainedbased on FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 (a) is a front cross-sectional view of the reaction vessel 221.The reaction vessel 221 comprises; a storage chamber 222, in which aliquid is storable, that has an opening part, an approximate squareprismatic reaction chamber 225 that is communicated with the storagechamber 222 via an introduction flow passage 223 and as a whole isformed thinner than the storage chamber 222, and a liquid introductionflow passage 223 and a discharge flow passage 227 that communicatebetween the storage chamber 222 and the reaction chamber 225.Consequently, the reaction vessel 221 corresponds to the fluid circuit.The liquid introduction flow passage 223, the discharge flow passage227, and the reaction chamber 225 are formed in a layer form in whichthey are sandwiched from the front and back by a transparent thin plateor a film 229, and the entirety thereof is provided on a translucentreaction section 224. Reference symbols 228 and 226 of FIG. 11 denote,for example, blocking positions at which elastic valves, which are theelastic block members mentioned above, are provided, and as a result ofpressing by means of the pressing section shown in FIG. 9 (b), the voidis closed, and is blockable.

In regard to the reaction vessel 221, as the rotating body of the liquidintroducing device 50, suction and discharge of the fluid is possible,and a cap 220 formed from an elastic body, such as rubber, is installedon the nozzle 22, which is rotatable about the axis thereof, such thatit covers the lower end section of the nozzle 22 by means of the innersurface of the upper side of the cap 220 engaging a protrusion 27 aprovided on the outer face of the installation section 27 of the nozzle.As a result, contact between the nozzle 22 and the reaction vessel 211that is to be connected, or with the stored liquid thereof, can beprevented. On the other hand, the reaction vessel 221 is connected tothe cap 220 as a result of engagement with the inner face of the openingpart of the reaction vessel 221. A cylinder (not shown in the drawing)which is communicated with the nozzle 22 and is rotatably providedtogether with the nozzle 22, is provided on the inner section of thecylindrical element 21, and is rotatably supported on the cylindricalelement 21 via a bearing (not shown in the drawing). In order to performthe suction and discharging of the fluid of the nozzle 22, a rod 24which vertically moves a plunger (not shown in the drawing) that adjuststhe pressure within the nozzle 22, is provided within the cylinder. Onthe upper end of the rod 24, an end section 24 a which has a largerdiameter than the diameter of the rod 24, is provided. The rod 24 whichis inserted into the rotatable cylinder, is non-rotatably provided inthe nozzle 22 or the cylinder.

In FIG. 12 (a) is shown a partial cross-sectional front view of a stateof the reaction vessel 221 fitted with the cap 220, which is in a statewhere it has been detached from the installation section 27.Furthermore, a cross-sectional view along line AA thereof is shown inFIG. 12 (b), a view along line BB is shown in FIG. 12 (c), and across-sectional view along line CC is shown in FIG. 12 (d). Furthermore,FIG. 12 (e) shows, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), a side view of the reactionvessel 221 fitted with the cap 220, which is in a state where it hasbeen detached from the nozzle 22. The protrusions 27 a provided on theinstallation section 27 of the nozzle 22 are inserted from a notch 220 cprovided on the upper end of the cap 220 that is formed somewhat largerthan the protrusions 27 a into side grooves 220 b, which have a fixedcentral angle, provided on the cap 220, and engage the side grooves 220b such that they are sandwiched. On the other hand, in regard to theannular protrusion 220 a provided on the outer face of the cap 220, itis inserted and engaged with the annular side groove provided on theinner wall of the storage chamber 222. The outer face of the lower sideof the cap 220, which is formed by the elastic body, bonds to the innerface of the upper side of the storage chamber 222 of the reaction vessel211, and the opening part of the reaction vessel 221 is blocked.Consequently, it is possible to prevent liquid leakage and gas leakage.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the interval between theinstallation section 27 and the cap 220 is connected by engagement, andthe interval between the lower side outer face of the cap 220 and theopening part of the reaction vessel 221 is bonded. Accordingly, by meansof the rotation of the nozzle 22 serving as the rotating body, thereaction vessel 221 is rotated.

According to the reaction vessel 221 of the present embodiment, thereaction chamber 225 is provided on the lower side of the storagechamber 222 in a position farther away from the rotation axis than thestorage chamber 222, that is to say, the axis of the opening part.Consequently, the liquid that is dispensed into the storage chamber 222by the dispensing tip by means of the suction and discharging of thenozzle 22, can be introduced into the reaction chamber 225 by the nozzle22 rotating about the axis thereof, as a result of centrifugal force.When the liquid is introduced into the reaction chamber 225, the airthat is present within the reaction chamber 225 is discharged to withinthe storage chamber 222 through the discharge flow passage 227, and in acase where the reaction chamber 225 is filled with the liquid, it issealed by pressing the elastic valves at the blocking positions 226 and228. The reaction chamber 225, a portion of the storage chamber 222, andthe discharge flow passage 227 are provided on a frame 224 a in which ahole has been formed.

FIG. 13 is a concept diagram showing an entire reaction measurementprocessing system 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The reaction measurement processing system 10 comprises; the liquidintroducing device 50, a liquid treatment area 51 in which measurementpreparations such as homogenization, extraction, reaction,transportation, and thinning of suspension liquids containing specimensbased on various specimens, test reagents, and the like, are performed,and a reaction measuring area 52 that obtains optical signals forexecuting real time PCR with respect to a solution that is sealed in thereaction chamber of the reaction vessel.

As shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, the liquid introducing device 50 has aplurality of (in this example, eight) nozzles 22 which are rotatingbodies, and it is a device in which by connecting various elements onthe threaded sections 23 which have been provided in a slightly moreupper section than the ends of the nozzles 22, various processes, forexample, thinning or capillaration of the liquid, homogenization of thesuspension liquid, dispensing of the liquid, transportation, removal ofimpurities, extraction of the target material, stirring, washing, andthe like, are possible. Here, connection includes installation,threading, engagement, engaging insertion, accommodation, and the like.

The liquid introducing device 50 comprises, as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG.14, a plurality of (in this example, eight) nozzles 22 which arerotating bodies, nozzles 22 that are covered by caps 20 and are providedwith a suction and discharging part, threaded sections 23 that areprovided in a slightly more upper section than the lower ends of thenozzles 22, that connect to the caps 20 by threading, and rods 24 forsliding the plungers (not shown in the drawing) within the cylinders 22a that are communicated with the nozzles 22. Furthermore, the liquidintroducing device 50 comprises, in order to rotate the eight nozzles 22and the cylinders 22 a about the axis center thereof, synchronouspulleys 53 provided on the same center, a motor 82 for rotating theeight nozzles 22 and the cylinders 22 a, a motor shaft 83 of the motor82, and a belt 84 that spans the eight synchronous pulleys 53 and themotor shaft 83. Reference symbol 85 denotes a roller for adjusting thetension of the belt 84. Here, in FIG. 11, the motor 82, the motor shaft83, the belt 84, and a tension adjustment rotor 85 have been omitted toimprove viewability. Furthermore, in FIG. 12, the connection of thereaction vessel 11, and the like, has been omitted.

The eight rods 24 are installed by hooking end sections 24 a thatprotrude in the radial direction with a larger shape than the diameterof the rods 24, to eight notched sections provided on the edge of adrive plate 54, and the drive plate 54 is connected to nut sections 87that are threaded to ball screws 88. The rods 24 are always biased inthe downward direction by a spring that is provided on the cylinders 22a. As a result, in a case where the rods 24 move in the upwarddirection, they are raised by the nut sections 87, but when they descendin the downward direction, they descend by the spring force, rather thanby the nut sections 87. The ball screws 88 are rotationally driven by amotor 55 provided on a supporting member 56, which has a letter-U shapedcross-section, and as a result, the drive plate 54 and the eight rods 24simultaneously move vertically.

In FIG. 14, reference symbol 23 a denotes a tip removal plate forremoving the connected dispensing tips. The tip removal plate 23 acomprises a supporting section 23 b that extends in the downwarddirection, and is threaded with a ball screw 23 d, and the ball screw 23d is rotationally driven by means of a motor 23 e. Consequently, bymeans of the rotation of the motor 23 e, the tip removal plate 23 a isadvancable and retractable with respect to the nozzle 22. The motor 23e, the ball screw 23 d, and accordingly, the tip removal plate 23 a, arevertically movable by means of a vertical movement mechanism configuredby a ball screw mechanism provided within a chassis 57.

An engaging block 47 provided with the cap engaging sections 47 a and 47b is threaded to a ball screw 23 f. By means of the rotation of themotor 23 g, it is possible for the cap engagement sections 47 a and 47 bto approach or separate with respect to the tip removal plate 23 a.

Reference symbol 23 c denotes a flow passage for connection to apressure sensor.

The supporting member 56 is vertically movable independent of the tipremoval plate 23 a by a vertical movement mechanism that is configuredby a ball screw mechanism provided within an enclosure 57. A motor 58rotationally drives the ball screw. A magnetic force device comprising;a motor 59 for moving a magnet 89 which is for applying or removing amagnetic field from the outside of the dispensing tip connected to thenozzles 22 to within the tip, a horizontal rod 60, a rod 61, and themagnet 89, is provided on the underside of the enclosure 57, and movesthe magnet 89 left and right in the figure.

The liquid introducing device 50 is provided such that it is suspendedfrom the upper side, and is movably provided as a result of an X axis Yaxis movement mechanism that utilizes a linear movement mechanism (notshown in the drawing), such that it covers all regions of the reactionmeasurement processing system 10 and other necessary regions.

The liquid treatment area 51 of FIG. 13 comprises; a cartridge vessel 62having eight specimen storage wells 62 a that store the suspensions inwhich the specimens are suspended, a matrix form vessel 65 having fivecolumns by eight rows, eight cartridge vessels 70 for storing thevarious test reagents and materials necessary for executing real timePCR, or treatment products, and a holding rack 70 a for retaining theeight reaction vessels 11 and the caps 20.

Furthermore, on the specimen storage wells 62 a, barcodes 62 b arerespectively applied showing the information relating to the specimensthereof. The barcodes 62 b are read by moving a barcode reading section63 which reads the barcode, so as to scan the barcode. Reference symbol64 denotes a movement mechanism of the barcode reading section 63.

The matrix form vessel 65 retains; a column of filter built-in tips 66for removing impurities by suction and discharging of the liquidfollowing the homogenization process of the suspension containing thespecimen, a column of dispensing tips 67, a column of vessels 161 inwhich filter built-in vessels 161 (or column connection vessels 171) forhomogenizing and removing the impurities from the suspension containingthe specimen as a result of rotation are arranged, and a column of wells69 that store the test reagents necessary for PCR.

FIG. 15 (a) shows a usage state of a case where the filter built-in tip66 which is retained on the matrix form vessel 65 of the processingarea, is used by connecting it to the liquid introducing device 50.

The filter built-in tip 66 is used by engaging it on the dispensing tip67. The dispensing tip 67 comprises a flange 67 a which is provided onthe upper side, a storage section 67 b which stores the liquid, anengaging section 67 c which is provided on the underside of the storagesection 67 b and engages the opening part of the filter built-in tip 66,and a small diameter section 67 d that is communicated with the storagesection 67 b, on the underside of the storage section 67 b, and whichhas a thinner diameter than the storage section 67 b and has a liquidsuction and discharging port.

The filter built-in tip 66 comprises a flange 66 a provided on the upperend, a storage chamber 66 b that has an opening part which is engagableby means of the engaging section 67 c of the dispensing tip, in whichthe liquid is storable, and with a built in filter 100, and a smalldiameter section 66 c that is provided on the underside of the storagechamber 66 b that is communicated with the storage chamber 66 b and thathas a smaller diameter than the storage chamber 66 b. It is necessaryfor the filter 100 to have a bore diameter corresponding to the targetto be filtered.

In order to remove the impurities, or separate the target material fromwithin the suspension using the filter built-in tip 66, then as shown inFIG. 15, the end sections of the nozzles 22 provided on the liquidintroducing device 50 are engaged with the upper end opening part of thedispensing tips 67, and a connection member 99 provided on the liquidintroducing device 50, and the flanges 67 a provided on the upper endsof the dispensing tips 67 are engaged and connected. Next, by engagingthe opening part of the storage chamber 66 b of the filter built-in tip66 with the engaging section 67 c of the dispensing tip 67, the filterbuilt-in tip 66 is connected. As a result of suction or discharging ofthe liquid in such an engaged state such that the liquid passes throughthe filter 100, the impurities or the target material within the liquidare separated.

Furthermore, instead of connecting the filter built-in tip 66, as shownin FIG. 15 (b) or in FIG. 15 (c), it is acceptable if the impurities orthe target material in the liquid is separated by using the filterbuilt-in vessel 161 or the column connection vessel 171 retained in thematrix form vessel 65 of the liquid treatment area 51, and by utilizingthe rotation of the liquid introducing device 50. The filter built-invessel 161 comprises a cylindrical storage chamber 162 in which liquidis storable, and that has an opening part to which the lower end sectionof the nozzle 22 is connectable, a filter chamber 164 that ispartitioned by a filter 100 that has a predetermined pore diameter andextends in the diagonally downward direction from the storage chamber162, and a housing chamber 166 that is communicated with the filterchamber 164 and is installed such that it is detachable with respect tothe filter chamber 164. Reference symbol 163 denotes a flange used forremoval by the tip removal plate 23 a.

In regard to the present filter built-in vessel 161, the axis of theopening part, to which the bottom end section of the nozzle 22 isconnectable, becomes the rotation axis. Furthermore, the filter chamber165 is positioned farther away with respect to the axis than the storagechamber 162, and furthermore, the housing chamber 166 is positionedfarther away with respect to the axis than the filter chamber 165.Consequently, as a result of the rotation of the nozzle 22, the filterbuilt-in vessel 161 connected to the same rotates, and as a result, theliquid stored in the storage chamber 162 reaches the housing chamber 166through the filter chamber 164 as a result of the rotation. In regard tothe filter built-in vessel 161, the line that connects the storagechamber 162, the depression 163, the filter chamber 164, and the housingchamber 166 creates an approximate acute angle with the axis.

FIG. 15 (c) shows the column connection vessel 171. The columnconnection vessel 171 comprises a cylindrical storage chamber 172 inwhich liquid is storable, and that has an opening part to which thelower end section of the nozzle 22 is connectable, a column 174 that iscommunicated with the storage chamber 172 and in which a solid 175 thathas a predetermined adsorptivity is stored, and a housing chamber 176that is communicated with the column 174 and is installed such that itis detachable with respect to the column 174. Reference symbol 173denotes a flange used for removal by the tip removal plate 23 a.

In regard to the present column connection vessel 171, the axis of theopening part, to which the bottom end section of the nozzle 22 isconnectable, becomes the rotation axis. Furthermore, the column 174 is,such that it creates an acute angle in the downward direction withrespect to the rotation axis, provided such that it extends in thediagonally downward direction thereof with respect to the storagechamber 172, and the column 174 is provided in a position farther awaywith respect to the rotation axis than the storage chamber 172.Consequently, as a result of the rotation of the nozzle 22 serving asthe rotating body, the column connection vessel 171 that is connected tothe lower end section of the nozzle 22 rotates, and as a result, theliquid stored within the storage chamber 172 temporarily enters thedepression 173, is introduced into the column 174 through the depression173, and eventually reaches the housing chamber 176.

In FIG. 15 (b) or FIG. 15 (c), if a depression is provided in the bottomsection of the storage chambers 162 and 172, and the filter chamber 164or the column 174 is communicated via the depression, then even if thereis a small quantity of liquid, the liquid can be efficiently moved tothe filter chamber 164 or the column 174 by temporarily storing theliquid in the depression.

Furthermore, returning to FIG. 13, the reaction measuring area 52comprises; a static PCR unit 80 that retains the eight reaction vessels11 (31, 41, 111, 131, 141, 151, 211, 221) to which the target vesselshave been introduced and sealed within the reaction chambers 15 (or 33,41 a, 115, 135, 145, 155, 215, 225) such that temperature controls andoptical measurements are possible, or a dynamic PCR unit 90 thatvertically movably inserts such that temperature controls and opticalmeasurements are possible. The static PCR unit 80 and the dynamic PCRunit 90 are switchingly utilized by means of a switch. In regard to thestatic PCR unit 80, in order to heat or cool the reaction chamber 15 ofthe reaction vessel 11 retained in a static state therein, a rod lens75, in which light reception end sections 78 and wire form heatingbodies 79 are wrapped around, is provided such that it is made tosandwich the reaction chambers 15 from both sides along the thicknessdirection thereof. These light reception end sections 78 and the rodlens 75 are approachably and separatably provided with respect to thereaction chambers 15. These rod lenses 75 correspond to irradiation endsections of the optical information measuring sections that in a casewhere a fluorescent material is used as a marker material within thereaction chambers 15, irradiates excitation light for obtaining opticalinformation from the marker material onto the irradiation positionsinside the reaction chambers 15. Furthermore, it comprises a triggerlight source 71 that supplies the excitation light to the rod lenses 75of the irradiation end sections through optical fibers 74, and aphotomultiplier that receives the light from the reaction chambers 15 atthe light reception end sections 78 and converts the light receivedthrough the optical fibers 77 into an electrical signal.

On the other hand, in regard to the dynamic PCR unit 90, as shown inFIG. 13 or FIG. 21, two movable walls 90 a and 90 b that are providedsuch that they sandwich the reaction chamber 15 of the reaction vessel11 along the thickness direction thereof, and regions 91, 92 and 93 atwhich the movable walls 90 a and 90 b are provided and at which aheating end section or a cooling end section is provided for heating orcooling the reaction chamber 15, are arranged in the vertical directionsfor each reaction vessel 11. Furthermore, at the lowermost section ofthe row along these regions 91, 92 and 93, there is provided a region 94at which a light reception end section for optical informationmeasurement is positioned for each reaction vessel 11. On the outside ofthe movable walls 90 a and 90 b, light reception end sections 78 arepositioned at the regions 91 to 93, the rod lens 75 for irradiatingexcitation light is positioned at the region 94, and by fixinglyproviding them to the movable walls 90 a and 90 b, they are providedsuch that approaching and separating with respect to the reactionchamber 15 is possible. The region 94 is transparently formed, and a fan80 c that blows air in a direction along the arrangement of the reactionvessels 11 is provided for the PCR units 80 and 90. By providing acooling air jetting section in the spaces between the regions 91, 92 and93 shown in FIG. 21, at which the heating end section or the cooling endsection has been provided, the shifting of temperature in a case wherethe temperature that is set between regions is lowered can be smoothlyperformed. The opening and closing of the light reception end sections78, the rod lens 75 (79) of the static PCR unit 80, and the movablewalls 90 a and 90 b of the movable PCR unit 90 are performed by anopening and closing mechanism 81.

In the dynamic PCR unit 90, since the temperature control and thecontrol of the measurement of the optical information can be replaced bythe movement between the regions, the control and the processing issimplified. Furthermore, compared to a case where the temperature of aheating body or a cooling body with a large heat capacity is raised orlowered, since the temperature can be instantaneously changed by meansof movement to a different temperature region, the temperatureresponsiveness with respect to instructions is high, and a highlyaccurate and fine temperature control can be performed. Consequently, itcan be used in processing where accuracy is demanded.

In regard to the reaction vessels 11, they are respectively insertedinto the eight holes 80 a of the PCR unit 80 as shown in FIG. 1 (b),FIG. 7 (c) to 7 (e), FIG. 9, or FIG. 13, in a state where the openingparts 13 thereof are covered by the caps 20, and are further connectedto the nozzles 22, supported by the stepped portions of the flange 12 aof the opening parts 13, and the reaction section 14 is inserted intothe slit 80 b of the PCR unit 80. On the underside of the PCR unit 80,along the direction of the reaction section 14 thereof, the lightreception end section 78 is provided on one wall side thereof, that isto say, the wall side to which the film 18 has been provided, and on theother wall side, the rod lens 75, to which the heating body 79 has beenwrapped around, is provided.

The light reception end section 78 and the rod lens 75 aresimultaneously or individually detachably provided with respect to thereaction sections 14 by means of an opening and closing mechanism 81. Onthe light reception end section 78, which is on the side face side onwhich the films 18 of the reaction sections 14 have been provided,pressing sections 101 and 102 for pressure deforming the elastic valve16 a of the film 18 are provided such that they protrude in the normaldirection of the side surface of the tabular light reception end section78, which is the end of a fiber bundle, at points corresponding to theelastic valve 16 a and the hole section 17 b, which are the blockingpositions. Furthermore, the heating and cooling section comprises a fan80 c as a cooling end section. The fan 80 c is able to blow air alongthe direction in which the eight reaction vessels 11 have been arranged.For example, in a case where the rod lens 75, to which the heating body79 has been wrapped around, has been separated from the reactionvessels, by sending in air for dissipating the heat of the reactionchambers, heat control can be performed with good efficiency. When thereaction vessels 11 are installed on the PCR unit 80, the lightreception end section 78 and the rod lens 75 are moved to positionsfarther away from the reaction section 14 by means of the opening andclosing mechanism 81, and when the heating and cooling is performed, itis performed in a state where the light reception end section 78 and therod lens 77 are adjacent or in contact with the reaction section 14. Thetemperature control for the light reception end section 78 and theheating body 79 is performed by setting; the magnitude of an electricalcurrent applied to the light reception end section 78 and the heatingbody 79, the distance of the rod lens 75 with respect to the reactionchamber 15, or the timing, strength, and the like, of the ventilation bythe fan 80 c, by program control from an information processing device(not shown in the drawing).

Furthermore, an optical information measuring section for measuring theoptical information within the reaction chambers 15, is provided on thereaction measuring area 52. Here, supposing a case where the targetmaterial for which the quantity within the reaction chambers 15 is to bemeasured, is labeled by various fluorescent materials, as shown in FIG.1 (b), the optical information measuring section comprises; rod lenses75 as irradiation end sections for irradiating the eight reactionsections 14, a trigger light source 71 for irradiating excitation light,and in FIG. 1 (c), it comprises a light receiving section 72 havinglight reception end sections 78 for receiving the emitted light withinthe reaction sections 14 at the fixed light reception positions withrespect to each of the eight reaction sections 14, that is to say, atthe large wall that has the largest inner area amongst the walls thatenclose the reaction chambers 15, and a photomultiplier 73 that convertsthe received light at the light reception end sections 78 into anelectrical signal. In the same manner as FIG. 1 (c), in FIG. 9 (a) orFIG. 10, the rod lens 75, which is the irradiation end section and towhich a heating body 79 has been wrapped around, is provided on the wallwith the largest area, and the light reception end sections 76 areprovided on the wall with the smallest area. However, by providing therod lens 75, which is the irradiation end section, and the lightreception end sections 76 on the same wall, the configuration can besimplified. Furthermore, the rod lens 75 and the rod lens 75, which isthe irradiation end section, can be provided on opposingly facing walls.

FIG. 16 shows a specific example of the trigger light source 71 and thelight receiving section 72. The trigger light source 71 comprises; arotating plate 103 which supports a bundle of optical fibers 74 thatextend to the irradiation end sections of the eight reaction sections14, a rotating plate 104 to which an optical lens 105 has been fittedinto a hole that has been pierced in a location corresponding to thebundle of optical fibers 74, a supporting plate 106 onto which opticalfibers 107 which introduce laser light from laser light sources (notshown in the drawing) that emit laser light having a plurality ofwavelength types (four types in this example), are arranged at equalspace intervals around the circumference along the traveling path of theoptical lens 105, and a shaft 108 that rotatably supports the rotatingplate 103 and the rotating plate 104 in a state where they areconnected, while supporting the supporting plate 106 such that itbecomes unrotatable. According to the trigger light source 71, thelights from the four types of light sources which generate laser lighthaving a plurality of wavelength types, are temporally switched, andlight can be simultaneously irradiated in the eight reaction chambers 15at the irradiation end sections. Hence the trigger light source 71 has alight source selection section. The rod lens 75 is provided on the endsections of the optical fibers 74.

The light receiving section 72 comprises; a supporting plate 109 thatsupports eight optical fibers 77 which extend to the light reception endsections 78 of the eight reaction chambers 15, such that they arearranged at fixed space intervals, a rotating plate 110 in which a hole111 with an area corresponding to the diameter of the optical fibers 77has been pierced on the circumference corresponding to the arrangementpositions of the optical fibers 77 of the supporting plate 109, arotating plate 112 that is rotatably provided independently of therotating plate 110 on which a plurality of types (four types in thisexample) of filters 113 have been arranged, and a shaft 114 thatunrotatably supports the supporting plate 109, and independentlyrotatably supports the rotating plate 110 and the rotating plate 112.Hence this light receiving section 72 corresponds to a light receptionposition selection section and an optical filter selection section. Theselection of the optical fibers 77 from the light reception end sections78 corresponds to a light reception position selection section.

According to the optical information measuring section of the presentembodiment, by rotating the trigger light source 71 by a predeterminedangle at a time in a state where the rotating plate 103 and the rotatingplate 104 are connected, and by intermittently rotating the four typesof light sources at a fixed time interval, they are simultaneouslyirradiated one type at a time into the eight reaction chambers 15 of thereaction vessels. Then, the fluorescence excited in the reactionchambers 15 of the reaction vessels 11 are introduced from the lightreception end section 76 at the wall of the reaction chambers 15 with anarrow area, to the light receiving section 72 via the optical fiber 77.Then, the rotating plate 110, during the persistence time offluorescence during the irradiation of the one type of excitation light,sequentially leads the light from the reaction chambers of the eightreaction vessels 11 to the rotating plate 112 by intermittently rotatingthe rotating plate 110 by one revolution, and furthermore, while thefluorescence from a single reaction vessel 11 is being received, byrotating the rotating plate 112 by one revolution, the light isintroduced to the PMT 73 by sequentially passing it through the fourtypes of optical filters 113. This operation is sequentially performedwith regard to the four types of excitation light.

FIG. 17 shows the trigger light source 115 and light receiving section116 according to another embodiment.

The trigger light source 115 comprises; a supporting plate 117 thatsupports the eight optical fibers 74 which extend to the rod lenses 75that are the irradiation end sections of the eight reaction sections 14,such that they are arranged at equal space intervals, a rotating plate118 in which a hole 119 with an area corresponding to the diameter ofthe optical fibers 74 has been pierced on the circumferencecorresponding to the arrangement positions of the optical fibers 74 ofthe supporting plate 117, a supporting plate 120 that is rotatablyprovided independently of the rotating plate 118 and on which opticalfibers 121 from a plurality of types (four types in this example) oflight sources are arranged at equal space intervals, and a shaft 122that unrotatably supports the supporting plate 117 and rotatablysupports the rotating plate 118. Hence the trigger light source 115 hasa light source irradiation position selection section.

Furthermore, the light receiving section 116 comprises; a supportingplate 123 that supports the eight optical fibers 77 that extend from thelight reception end sections 76 of the eight reaction chambers 15 as abundle, and a shaft 126 that rotatably supports the four types ofoptical filters 125 by piercing a plurality (four in this example) ofholes in a rotating plate 124 having positions and sizes correspondingto the bundles of optical fibers 77 of the supporting plate 123.Accordingly, the light receiving section 116 has an optical filterselection section.

According to the optical information measuring section of the presentembodiment, the excitation light for fluorescence generation from thefour types of light sources, by intermittently rotating the rotatingplate 118 by one revolution, passes through the hole 119 provided in therotating plate 118, and the excitation light is introduced to thereaction chambers 15 of the eight reaction vessels 11 through theoptical fibers. Then, the fluorescence that has been excited in thereaction chambers that have been irradiated with the excitation light isintroduced to the light receiving section 116 via the optical fiber 77.By sequentially rotating the rotating plate 124 during the time theexcitation from a single reaction chamber 15 is sustained, it issequentially passed through four types of optical filters 125, and it isintroduced into a photomultiplier 73.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a rod lens, which is the irradiation endsection.

Returning again to FIG. 13, the reaction measuring area 52 has a liquidintroducing section 200 provided with eight vessel storing sections 204,which correspond to the rotating bodies which store and rotate thereaction vessels 11. The liquid introducing section 200 comprises achassis 201 in which the eight vessel storing sections 204 are stored, ahole section 202 for storing the reaction vessel 11 that is to berotated in the vessel storing section, which is pierced through theupper portion of the chassis 201, and a slit section 203 for easilystoring the protruding portions, such as the reaction sections 14 of thereaction vessels 11.

FIG. 19 (a) shows a plan view of the eight vessel storing sections 204that are provided within the chassis 201. A concave section 205 isprovided in the vessel storing section 204, which is the portion intowhich the reaction section 14 of the reaction vessel 11 that is to bestored is inserted.

FIG. 19 (b) shows a front cross-sectional view of the vessel storingsection 204 in which the schematically shown reaction vessel 11 has beenstored. FIG. 19 (c) shows a cross-sectional side view of the chassis 201of the liquid introducing section 200, and the vessel storing section204 that has been provided therein.

The vessel storing section 204 is rotated in a state storing thereaction vessel 11. The rotation axis of the vessel storing section 204is provided such that it passes through the stored vessel. According tothe present embodiment, since the liquid introducing section 200 isprovided in addition to the liquid introducing device 50, processing canbe performed with a good efficiency.

FIG. 20 is an example of a reaction vessel 191 according to a tenthembodiment for capillarating the liquid instead of thinning the liquid.The reaction vessel 191 comprises a storage chamber 192 that has anopening part, in which a liquid is storable, and a reaction chamber 193that is formed narrower than the storage chamber 192. The opening partof the reaction vessel 191 is formed connectable to the lower endsection of the nozzle 22 provided to the exterior, which is a liquidintroducing section, and by connecting to the nozzle 22, liquid isintroducible into the reaction chamber 193. Here, reference symbol 194denotes a flange for making it detachable by means of the tip removalplate 23 a, and reference symbol 195 denotes a flow passage.

FIG. 21 shows the dynamic PCR unit 90 and the reaction vessel 221, whichreceives processing at the PCR unit 90.

The PCR unit 90 is, as mentioned above, provided with two movable walls90 a and 90 b, which are formed by adiabatic bodies, such that theysandwich the eight movement routes, through which the eight reactionvessels 221 move, from both sides. The vertical direction movement ofthe reaction vessel 221 is driven by the motor 58 mentioned above, in astate where it is installed on the nozzle 22. The movement routedirection is the vertical direction. The PCR unit 90 comprises, as shownin FIG. 13, eight pairs of region groups that are arranged in thehorizontal direction, and a single region group comprises, as shown inFIG. 21 (a), four regions 91, 92, 93 and 94 that are arranged in thevertical direction. The regions 91, 92, 93 and 94 are arranged withinthe reaction vessel 221 and in a position through which the portion ofthe thin layer reaction chamber 225 passes. The cylindrical portion thatincludes the nozzle 22 of the reaction vessel 221 is formed such that itpasses through the space between adjacent region groups.

Furthermore, the region 94 is transparently formed, and at the region 94provided on one of the movable walls 90 a thereof, a fiber end 95 thatcorresponds to an irradiation end section that irradiates the light fromthe trigger light source 71 is provided, and at the region 94 providedon the other movable wall 90 b, a light reception end section 78 isprovided. At that time, the optical axis of the fiber end 95 and theoptical axis of the light reception end section 78 are provided suchthat they are inclined at a predetermined angle. Alternatively, inregard to the irradiation end section and the light reception endsection, by providing fiber rod glass 95 a and 78 a to either or boththereof, and by deviating the irradiation direction and the lightreception direction of the light thereof by a predetermined angle, theeffect of the light from the irradiation end section towards the lightreception end section can be reduced.

Furthermore, in regard to the region 91 to the region 93, in response tothe temperature control of PCR processing, for example, a heating endsection that achieves a constant temperature of 94° C. is provided forthe region 91, and a heating end section that can raise or lower thetemperature in a range, for example, from 50° C. to 60° C. is providedfor the region 92, and a temperature that meets the processing contentis set. Furthermore, in regard to the region 93, a heating end sectionthat achieves a constant temperature of 72° C. is provided. Moreover,the time for the reaction chamber 225 to pass through a single cyclefrom the region 91 to the region 94 is, for example, approximately 15seconds, and it is made to repeat the movement a plurality of times.

Next, the process flow using the reaction measurement processing system10 explained above is explained based on FIG. 13 and FIG. 22, whichshows the process flow conceptually.

Here, a case in which measurement is performed by using the real timePCR method to measure the quantity of DNA contained in a fixed specimenis explained. Real time PCR is a method for measuring the concentrationof nucleic acids by using a nucleic acid probe. The method thereofutilizes, for example, a phenomenon wherein at the time the nucleic acidprobe that has been labeled with a fluorescent dye hybridizes into thetarget nucleic acid, the light emission of the fluorescent dye decreasesby a level that depends on the type and base sequence of the base towhich the fluorescent dye has bonded, or a phenomenon wherein the lightemission strength increases as a result of removing the nucleic acidprobe from the target nucleic acid (light emission and light extinctionphenomena), or utilizes a method in which a test reagent that emitsfluorescent light as a result of the insertion of double-stranded DNA,is added to the reaction system, then a method of detecting thefluorescent light accompanying amplification is utilized, and thedetermination is performed by detecting the fluorescent light strengththereof (the intercalator method).

In the cartridge vessel 62 of the reaction measurement processing system10, eight specimens comprising suspensions in which biological tissue,such as skin that has been obtained from patients or the like issuspended, are stored in advance. Furthermore, in the wells 69 and thecartridge vessels 70, for example, test reagents necessary for PCR, DNApolymerase, reaction buffer liquids, fluorescent test reagents, primers,other test reagents thereof, and the like, are stored in advance. Thenozzles 22 of the liquid introducing device 50 are, by means of araising and lowering mechanism not shown in the drawing, simultaneouslyconnected by engagement to the eight dispensing tips that are retainedby a tip rack not shown in the drawing as a result of being depressedwith respect to the eight dispensing tips. Then by simultaneouslyrepeating the suction and discharging in regard to the sample stored inthe cartridge vessels 62, the biological tissue, which is a solidcontained in the suspension, is crushed or homogenized to the cellularlevel thereof. Next, the liquid introducing device 50 is moved in astate where the suspension is suctioned into the dispensing tips, to thelocation at which the eight filter built-in vessels 161 are stored, thatis to say, moved to the position of the third row from the left in thedrawing of the matrix form vessel 65, and the suspensions stored in thedispensing tips are discharged into the storage chambers 162 of theeight filter built-in vessels 161.

Connection is performed by inserting the lower end sections of thenozzles 22 into the opening parts of the storage chambers 162. In thisstate, the filter built-in vessels 161 are lifted to the upper side ofthe matrix form vessel 65, and the filter built-in vessels 161 aresimultaneously rotated together with the nozzles 22 by simultaneouslyrotating the eight nozzles 22. Then, the homogenized suspensions storedin the storage chambers 162 of the filter built-in vessels 161 move fromthe storage chambers 162, pass through the filters 100 within the filterchambers 164, to the housing chambers 166, by means of centrifugal forceresulting from rotation. As a result of the filters 100, the impuritiesare captured, and solutions without impurities that contain the targetDNA can be obtained in the housing chambers 166. The housing chambers166 are detached from the filter chambers 164 of the filter built-invessels 161, the dispensing tips are connected, the solution issuctioned, and it is transported and discharged in a predetermined well69 of the cartridge vessel 70 in which the necessary test reagents, forexample, a probe that has been labeled with a fluorescent material, andthe like, is stored, and a solution that is mixed with the necessarytest reagents is produced.

Next, the eight nozzles 22 are moved to the tip rack (not shown in thedrawing) by moving the nozzle heads of the liquid introducing device 50,and by operating the raising and lowering mechanism of the nozzles 22,the nozzles 22 are connected by inserting into and engaging the eightunused dispensing tips 127 stored in the tip rack. Next, the dispensingtips 127 are moved to the eight wells 69, and the solutions 128 storedwithin the wells 69 are simultaneously suctioned into the unused eightdispensing tips 127. Then, as conceptually shown in FIG. 22 (a), theyare transported to the eight reaction vessels 11 that are retained bythe holding rack 70 a, and the solutions 128 are discharged into thestorage chambers 12 thereof. Following discharging, the eight dispensingtips 127 are removed from the nozzles 22 of the liquid introducingdevice 50 by the tip removal plate 23 a, and are discarded.

Next, the liquid introducing device 50 is moved to the position of theholding rack 70 a in which the eight caps 20 are stored, the nozzles 22are simultaneously inserted into the eight caps 20, and by rotating thenozzles 22, the eight caps 20 are connected to the threaded sections 23.

Next, as shown in FIG. 22 (b), the nozzle heads of the liquidintroducing device 50 are moved to the position at which the reactionvessels 11 of the holding rack 70 a are retained, the caps 20 installedon the nozzles 22 are inserted within the opening parts 13 and thestorage chambers 12 of the reaction vessels 11, in which the solutionshave been stored, and as a result of simultaneously rotating the nozzles22, they are connected by threading the caps 20 and the opening parts13. Next, following raising of the reaction vessel 11 to the upper sideof the retention rack 70 a, the nozzle 22, and accordingly the reactionvessel 11 connected to the nozzle 22, are simultaneously rotated at ahigh speed in the same direction as the rotation for threading at thecap 20 and the opening part 13. In regard to the reaction vessel 11, ina state where it is stored in the retention rack 70 a, since thereaction chambers 15 thereof are retained in a state where they arerespectively inserted into a slit-shaped space provided in the retentionrack 70 a, the reaction vessel 11 does not rotate during the rotation ofthe nozzle 22.

Then, as shown in FIG. 22 (c), the solutions 128 stored within thestorage chambers 12 move to the reaction chambers 15 by centrifugalforce, and are introduced into the reaction chambers 15.

The reaction vessels 11 in which the solutions have been introduced tothe reaction chambers 15 are transported to the PCR unit 80 by theliquid introducing device 50 in a state with the caps 20 installed, andthey are retained such that they are supported by the hole 80 a and theslit 80 b portions of the PCR unit 80.

As shown in FIGS. 22 (d) and (e), the light reception end section 78 isbrought close to the reaction chambers 15 by the opening and closingmechanism 81, and inside of the reaction chambers 15 are simultaneouslymade a sealed state by pushing the protrusion sections 101 and 102against the corresponding closing positions 25 and 26, and deformingblocking positions, that is to say, the elastic valves 16 a and theplates 18.

Next, not only the light reception end section 78, but the rod lens 75in which the heating body 79, which corresponds to the heating andcooling end section, is wrapped around, is simultaneously brought closeto, or in contact with, the reaction chambers 15 from the back side ofthe reaction section 14 by the opening and closing mechanism 81, andtemperature control is performed based on the PCR method. At that time,in the present embodiment, since the rod lens 75, to which the heatingbody 79 has been wrapped around, is directly brought close to, or intocontact with, the reaction chambers 15, it becomes possible to supply avessel for PCR with faithful responsiveness with respect to temperaturechanges.

In this PCR amplification process, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, inregard to the trigger light source 71 serving as the light forexcitation that excites the fluorescent material which is the labeledmaterial used in the reaction chambers 15, light from the light sourceof the wavelength selected by the rotating plate 104 is simultaneouslyirradiated into the reaction chamber 15 through the optical fibers 74 atthe rod lenses 75, which are irradiation end sections. At that time, thelight receiving sections 72 simultaneously irradiate the eight reactionchambers 15. At that time, at the light receiving sections 72, in regardto the eight reaction chambers 15, the emitted lights received at thelight reception end sections 76 at the light reception positions aresequentially selected by the rotating plate 110, and in regard to theintermittent rotation of the rotating plate 110, within the time thereceived light from a single light reception end section 76 is selected,the rotating plates 112 are sequentially intermittently rotated onerotation, and in a case where the corresponding optical filter 113 isselected, data regarding the light input into the PMT 73 is obtained.The operations above, in regard to all four types of light wavelengths,measure by converting the light received from all the reaction chambers15 into an electrical signal. As a result, the state of the lightemission strength of the fluorescent material is measured in real time,and the quantity of DNA that is the subject thereof, can be measured.

Furthermore, in a case where the reaction chamber 15 is cooled byseparating the rod lens 75, which is wrapped around the heating body 79,from the reaction chamber 15. Then as well as separating the rod lens75, by simultaneously subjecting the reaction vessels 11 to cold air bymeans of a fan 80 c, heat can be efficiently released from the reactionchamber 15.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to homogenize thesuspension containing the specimen, extract a solution containing thetarget DNA from the homogenized suspension, thin the solution to whichall test reagent types have been mixed with the DNA, and efficiently andconsistently automatically perform the operations until the opticalinformation is obtained, while performing accurate and highly responsivetemperature controls of the thinned solution, in a compact device.

In the above explanation, in regard to the liquid introducing device 50,as the liquid introducing section, although the liquid stored in thestorage chamber was introduced to the reaction chamber by connecting thereaction vessel to the nozzle 22 serving as a rotating body, it is in noway restricted to this, and as the liquid introducing section, it isacceptable if the reaction vessel 11 is connected to the nozzle of theliquid introducing device 50 within the vessel storage section 204 ofthe liquid introducing section 200, the reaction vessel 11 is storedwithin the vessel storage sections 204 of the liquid introducing section200, and the introduction is performed by rotation. In particular, inregard to the production of the liquid that is stored within thereaction vessel, the movement of the liquid introducing device 50 issimplified by using the liquid introducing section 200.

As the reaction vessel, it is acceptable that by connecting thetip-shaped reaction vessel 41 to the nozzle 22 of the liquid introducingdevice 50 via the cap 42, the liquid is introduced into the gap section41 a serving as the reaction chamber, not as a rotating body, but byusing the suction and discharging function of the nozzle 22.

In this case, in regard to the liquid introduced into the gap section 41a, following sealing of the gap section 41 a and following reaction, asa result of opening the hole section 42 f by moving the cap engagingsections 47 a and 47 b in the somewhat upper direction with respect tothe tip removal plate 23 a, the nozzle 22 and the gap section 41 a iscommunicated, the sealed state is released, and by discharging withrespect to the nozzle 22 through the thin diameter section 46, theproduct can be collected.

The embodiments above have been specifically explained in order tobetter understand the present invention, and do not restrict otherembodiments in any way. Accordingly, they are changeable within a scopethat does not depart from the gist of the invention. For example, inregard to the optical information measuring device, it is acceptable foroptical systems such as a half mirror, a mirror, or an optical filter,to be used to distribute the light, rather than selecting the light bytemporal switching as mentioned above.

Furthermore, the various mechanisms are not restricted in any way tothose mentioned above, and, for example, as a rotation mechanism of thenozzles, it is possible to use a gear mechanism instead of a beltmechanism. Furthermore, for example, it is possible to use the rotationmechanism achieved by the present inventor that has been disclosed inPCT/JP02/01147 (WO02/063300 A1).

The shape of the reaction vessels is not restricted to that explainedabove, and it is acceptable if they are not cylindrical, but are aprismatic shape or a spherical shape. Furthermore, although an exampleis described where they are connected to the nozzles via the cap, it isacceptable if they are directly connected to the nozzles withoutincluding the cap. In regard to the rotation mechanism and the suctionand discharge mechanism of the nozzles of the liquid rotating treatmentdevice 50, the number of nozzles, and the number of the various vessels,they are not restricted by the above explanation in any way. Cases wherethe number of nozzles and vessels is one, or a number other than eight,are acceptable. Furthermore, although the filter was used to remove theimpurities within the suspension, it may be used to capture the targetmaterial.

In regard to the rotation supporting axle, not only a case where it isprovided along the axis of the opening part 13 of the storage chamber 12as shown in FIG. 5 is possible, but it acceptable for it to be providedsuch that it is parallel to the axis of the opening part 13. Since thisrotation supporting axle is a portion of the vessel, the rotation of thevessel of this case about the rotation supporting axle corresponds torotation of the vessel about its own axis.

Furthermore, although the explanation above used the optical informationmeasuring section of FIG. 16, it is acceptable to use the opticalinformation measuring section of FIG. 17. Moreover, although the heatingand cooling section was provided on both sides of the reaction chamber,it is acceptable to provide it on only one side. Furthermore, it isacceptable for the heating and cooling section to involve a liquid or agas, rather than a solid. Moreover, in the explanation above, althoughembodiments regarding the thinning of a liquid were mainly given,capillaration of a liquid can also be performed.

Furthermore, in the explanation above, in FIG. 13, although both astatic PCR unit and a dynamic PCR unit have been provided andswitchingly used, it is acceptable if only one of the PCR units areprovided.

Moreover, components such as the reaction vessels, the storage chambers,the reaction chambers, the flow passages, the reaction sections, therotating body supporting axles, the dispensing tips, the light measuringsections, the caps, all vessel types, the test reagents, the rod formmembers, the nozzles, and the heating and cooling sections, and theliquid introducing section, and all mechanism types mentioned above canbe arbitrarily combined while appropriately modifying them.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

This relates to the reaction vessel, the reaction measuring device, andthe liquid rotating treatment device according to the present invention.The present invention is, for example, related to fields in whichprocessing, testing, and analysis related to genes principally in regardto, for example, DNA, RNA, mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, and plasmids, is required,and is related to all fields, for example, industrial fields,agricultural fields such as food products, agricultural products, andseafood processing, health care fields such as drug fields, sanitation,health, disease, and genetics, and scientific fields such asbiochemistry or biology. The present invention can particularly be usedin various DNA-handling analysis and tests, such as PCR, and real timePCR.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE SYMBOLS

10 Reaction measurement processing system

11, 11 a, 31, 41, 131, 141, 151, 191, 211, 221 Reaction vessel

12, 32, 66, 132, 142, 152, 212, 222 Storage chamber

14, 14 d, 134, 144, 154, 214, 224 Reaction section

15, 135, 145, 155, 215, 225 Reaction chamber

18 Film

20 Cap

22 Nozzle (rotating body)

16, 133, 143, 153, 212, 223 Liquid introduction flow passage

17, 137, 147, 217, 227 Discharge flow passage

16 a Elastic valve (blocking position)

17 b Hole section (blocking position)

138, 136, 148, 146, 156, 213, 216, 226, 228 Blocking position

41 a Gap section (reaction chamber)

50 Liquid introducing device

51 Liquid treatment area

52 Reaction measuring area

71 Trigger light source

72 Light receiving section

73 PMT (photomultiplier)

75 Rod lens (irradiation end section)

76, 78 Light reception end section

79 Heating body (heating and cooling section)

200 Liquid introducing section

1. A liquid introducing and reaction measuring device which is a devicehaving; one or two or more reaction vessels, and one or two or moreliquid introducing sections to which said reaction vessel is connectablesuch that it is freely detachable, and said reaction vessel is a vesselthat has: a storage chamber in which liquid is storable, that has anopening part; a reaction chamber that is formed thinner or narrower thansaid storage chamber, and wherein at least a portion of said reactionchamber is translucent or semi-translucent; and at least one flowpassage that communicates between said storage chamber or the exteriorand said reaction chamber, and liquid is introduced into said reactionchamber by means of a liquid introducing section, comprising, in regardto said reaction vessel, a flow passage which, as well as communicatingbetween said storage chamber and said reaction chamber, communicatesbetween said reaction chamber and the exterior, and said liquidintroducing section has a nozzle and a suction and discharging sectionthat performs suction and discharging of gas via said nozzle, and theopening part of said storage chamber is connectable to a lower endsection of said nozzle or is connectable to the lower end section of thenozzle via a cap that is connectable to said nozzle lower end section,and said reaction chamber of said reaction vessel is a gap formedbetween an outer face of a core, which is stored in a pipette tipcomprising a thick diameter section and a thin diameter section that isthinner than said thick diameter section, and an inner face of saidpipette tip, and said storage chamber is a space within said thickdiameter section formed above said reaction chamber, the thin diametersection of said pipette tip is a flow passage that communicates betweenthe exterior and said reaction chamber, and an opening part of saidthick diameter section is connectable by means of said nozzle, and aswell as having an optical information measuring section that obtainsoptical information within said one or two or more reaction chambers, itcauses a reaction with regard to the liquid introduced into the reactionchamber by the liquid introducing section, and measures the opticalinformation thereof.
 2. A liquid introducing and reaction measuringdevice according to claim 1, comprising a sealing device thatfluidically seals between said nozzle or said storage chamber and saidreaction chamber, and between said reaction chamber and the exterior.